UC-NRLF 


JOHN  fi.\(:h 


^M.l¥(j 


«3S;& 


i 


V 


i  I 


J     ' 


A .    F •    Lange 


'^In^AJ 


t 


^t^ 


{Jy-^^ 


U  ^^-^^ "' 


^^^^  /t:C>^^^^ 


George  Washington. 

Painted  by  Rembrandt  Peale. 


CALIFORNIA   STATE  SERIES 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY 


OF   THE 


UNITED   STATES 


BY 


,  JOHN    BACH   McMASTER 


Revised  by  the  State  Text-Book  Committee,  and 
Approved  by  the  State  Board  of  Education 


SACRAMENTO 

W.  W.  Shannon,  -  -  Supt.  State  Printing 


^• 


n^ 


Copyright.  1909,  by 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Copyright.  1907.  by 
JOHN  BACH  McMASTER. 


(A. 


-/?, 


c? 


In  the  compiiatibntff  this  work  certain  matter 
;:  ;;  fftSm'VAr^Jrief.HistofyVf  the  United  States, 
.' '"  *  JsjC  3fj>^n"^ch»MVM&sJer,"  has   been  used. 

All  such  matter  is  pro'tected  by  the  copyrigfht 

entry  noted  above. 


1  E— 50  M  9  '09 


PREFACE 

It  is  not  too  much  to  assert  that  most  of  our  countrymen 
acquire  at  school  all  the  knowledge  they  possess  of  the  past 
history  of  their  country.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  is  most  desira- 
ble that  a  history  of  the  United  States  for  elementary  schools 
should  present  not  only  the  essential  features  of  our  country's 
progress  which*  all  should  learn,  but  also  many  things  of  sec- 
ondary consequence  which  it  is  well  for  every  young  American 
to  know. 

In  this  book  the  text  proper  consists  of  the  essentials,  and 
these  are  told  in  as  few  words  as  truth  and  fairness  will  permit. 
The  notes,  which  form  a  large  part  of  the  book,  include  the 
matters  of  less  fundamental  importance  :  they  may  be  included 
in  the  required  lessons,  or  may  be  omitted,  as  the  teacher 
thinks  proper;  however,  they  should  at  least  be  read.  Some 
of  the  notes  are  outline  biographies  of  men  whose  acts  require 
mention  in  the  text  and  who  ought  iiot^tb  be  mere  names,  nor 
appear  suddenly  without  any  statement  of  thei"-:  earlier  r;i«reers. 
Others  are  intended  to  be  fuller  statements  of  important  events 
briefly  described  or  narrated  in  the  text,  or  relate  to  interesting 
events  that  are  of  only  secondary  importance.  Still  others  call 
attention  to  the  treatment  of  historical  personages  or  events  by 
our  poets  and  novelists,  or  suggest  passages  in  standard  his- 
tories that  may  be  read  with  profit.  Such  suggested  readings 
have  been  chosen  mostly  from  books  that  are  likely  to  be  found 
in  all  school  libraries. 

Much  of  the  machinery  sometimes  used  in  history  teaching — 
bibliographies,  extensive  collateral  readings,  judgment  ques- 
tions, and  the  like  —  have  been  omitted  as  out  of  place  in  a 


6  PREFACE 

brief  school  history.  Better  results  may  be  obtained  by  having 
the  pupils  write  simple  narratives  in  their  own  words,  covering 
important  periods  and  topics  in  our  history  :  as,  the  discovery  of 
America ;  the  exploration  of  our  coast  and  continent ;  the  set- 
tlements that  failed  ;  the  planting  of  the  English  colonies  ;  the 
life  of  the  colonists ;  the  struggles  for  possession  of  the  country; 
the  causes  of  the  Revolution ;  the  material  development  of  our 
country  between  certain  dates;  and  other  subjects  that  the 
teacher  may  suggest.  The  student  who  can  take  such  broad 
views  of  our  history,  and  put  his  knowledge  in  his  own  words, 
will  acquire  information  that  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten. 

No  trouble  has  been  spared  in  the  selection  of  interesting 
and  authentic  illustrations  that  will  truly  illustrate  the  text. 
Acknowledgment  is  due  for  permission  to  photograph  many 
articles  in  museums  and  in  the  possession  of  various  historical 
societies.  The  reproduction  of  part  of  Lincoln's  proclamation 
on  page  365  is  inserted  by  courtesy  of  David  McKay,  publisher 
of  Lossing's  Civil  War  in  America, 

JOHN  BACH  McMASTER. 

University  of  Pennsylvania. 


U.  S.  Battleship. 


CONTENTS 

Discovery  and  Exflokation 

CHAPTER  PA'JK 

I.     The  New  World  Found 9 

II.     The  Atlantic  Coast  and  the  Pacific  Discovered    .  19 

III.  France  and  England  attempt  to  settle  America   .  32 

The  English  in  America 

IV.  The  English  on  the  Chesapeake 41 

V.     The  English  in  New  England 54 

VI.     The  Middle  and  Southern  Colonies    ....  70 

VII.     How  THE  Colonies  were  Governed       ....  87 

Rivals  of  the  English 

VIII.     The  Indians 101 

IX.     The  French  in  America 114 

X.     Wars  with  the  French 123 

XI.     The  French  driven  from  America       ....  135 

The  American  Revolution 

XII.     The  Quarrel  with  the  Mother  Country    .        .        .  147 

XIII.  The  Fight  for  Independence  Begun     ....  158 

XIV.  The  War  in  the  Middle  States  and  on  the  Sea     .  169 
XV.     The  War  in  the  West  and  in  the  South  .        .        .  181 

Development  OF  the   Union 

XVI.     After  the  War          .        * 196 

XVII.     Our  Country  in  1789 210 

XVIII.     The  New  Government      . 222 

XIX.     Growth  of  the  Country,  1789-1805        ....  237 

XX.     The  Struggle  for  Commercial  Independence    .        .  249 

XXI.     Rise  of  the  West 264 

XXII.     The  Era  of  Good  Feeling 280 

XXI II.  Politics  from  1829  to  1841 288 

XXIV.  Growth  of  the  Country  from  1820  to  1840        .        .  300 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

The  Long  Struggle  against  Slavery 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXV.     More  Territory  Acquired       .        .        .        .        .        .  316 

XXVI.     The  Struggle  for  Free  Soil 332 

XXVII.     State  of  the  Country  from  1840  to  1800   .         .         .  340 

XXVIII.     The  Civil  War,  1861-1863 351 

XXIX.     The  Civil  War,  1863-1805 366 

XXX.     The  Navy  IX  THE  War;    Life  ix  War  Times      .         .  376 

XXXI.     Reconstruction 385 

Economic  Development 

XXXIL     Growth  of  the  Country  from  1860  to  1880        .        .  393 

XXXIII.  A  Quarter  Century  of  Struggle  over  Industrial 

Questions,  1872  to  1897 404 

XXXIV.  The  War  with  Spain,  and  Later  Events    .         .         .  421 

APPENDIX 

The  Declaration  of  Independence          .         .         .        .         .        .  i 

Constitution  of  the  United  States iv 

Table  of  States xiv 

Table  of  Presidents xvi 

Index xvii 


LIST   OF   COLORED  MAPS 
French  Claims,  etc.,  in  1700     .... 
Eastern  North  America,  1754 

British  Territory,  1764 

Northern  Colonies  during  the  Revolution 

Southern  Colonies  during  the  Revolution 

The  United  States,  about  1783,  showing  State 

The  United  States,  1805    .... 

The  United  States,  1824    . 

The  United  States,  18.50    .... 

The  United  States,  1861     .... 

The  West  in  1870  (also  1800  and  1907) 

The  United  States  and  its  Outlying  Possessions 


Claims 


118 

134 

142 

168 

184 

194, 195 

242 

278,  279 

330,  331 

352, 353 

394 

425 


"I  pledge  allegiance  to  my  Flag  and  to  the 
Republic  for  which  it  stands;  one  nation,  indivis- 
ible, with  liberty  and  justice  for  all.'* 


COLUMBUS 

liehind  liiiu  lay  the  <iniy  A/ores, 

Behind  the  Gates  of  Hercules; 
Before  him  not  the  ghost  of  shores, 

Before  him  only  shoreless  seas. 
The  good  mate  said :     "Now  we  must  pray, 

For,  lo !  the  very  stars  are  gone. 
Brave  Admiral,  speak  ;  what  shall  I  say?" 

''Why  say,  'Sail  on  !    sail  on  1  and  on  !'  " 

"My  men  grow  nuitinous  day  ])y  day  ; 

My  men  grow  ghastly  wan  and  weak.'^ 
The  stout  mate  thought  of  home;  a  spray 

Of  salt  wave  washed  his  swarthy  cheek. 
"What  shall  I  say,  V)rave  Admiral,  say, 

If  we  sight  naught  but  seas  at  dawn  ?" 
"Why  you  shall  say  at  V)reak  of  day, 

'Sail  on  !  sail  on  !  sail  on  !  and  on  1'  " 

They  sailed  and  sailed,  as  winds  might  l)low, 

Until  at  last  the  blanched  mate  said  : 
"Why,  now  not  even  God  would  know 

Should  I  and  all  my  men  fall  dead. 
These  very  winds  forget  their  way, 

For  God  from  these  dread  seas  is  gone, 
Now  speak,  brave  Admiral;  speak  and  say"— 

He  said,  "Sail  on  1    sail  on  !   and  on'." 

They  sailed.     They  sailed.     Then  spake  the  mate: 

"This  mad  sea  shows  its  teeth  to-night. 
He  curls  his  lips,  he  lies  in  wait 

With  lifted  teeth,  as  if  to  bite  : 
Brave  Admiral,  say  but  one  good  word; 

What  shall  we  do  when  hope  is  gone?" 
The  words  leapt  like  a  leaping  sword: 

"Sail  on!    sail  on  !    sail  on  !   and  on  !" 

Then,  pale  and  worn,  he  kept  his  deck, 

And  peered  through  darkness.     Ah,  tliat  night 
Of  all  dark  nights  !     And  then  a  speck— 

A  light !     A  light !     A  light !     A  light  1 
It  grew,  a  starlit  flag  unfurled ! 

It  grew  to  be  Time's  burst  of  dawn. 
He  gained  a  world;  he  gave  that  world 

Its  grandest  lesson:     "On  !   sail  on  :" 

— Joa(iuin  Miller. 

opynghted  and  puliHshod  by  The  Whitakor  \-  Hay-\Vi>rj;in  Co. 
San  Francisco,  Califi'iiiia. 
Used  l)y  peiiiUh^ion. 


A    BRIEF   PITSTORY 

OF 

THE   UNITED   STATES 

CHAPTER   I 
THE   NEW    WORLD   FOUND 

The  New  World,  of  which  our  country  is  tlie  most  impor- 
tant part,  was  discovered  by  Christopher  Cohimbus  in  1492. 
When  that  great  man  set  sail  from  Spain  on  his  voyage  of  dis- 
covery, he  was  seeking  not  only  unknown  lands,  but  a  new 
way  to  eastern  Asia.     Such  a  new  way  was  badly  needed. 

The  Routes  of  Trade.  —  Long  before  Columbus  was  born,  the 
people  of  Europe  had  been  trading  with  the  far  East.  Spices, 
drugs,  and  precious  stones,  silks,  and  other  articles  of  luxury 
were  brought,  partly  by  vessels  and  partly  by  camels,  from 
India,  the  Spice  Islands,  and  Cathay  (China)  by  various  routes 
to  Constantinople  and  the  cities  in  Egypt  and  along  the  east- 
ern shore  of  the  Mediterranean.  There  they  were  traded  for 
the  copper,  tin,  and  lead,  coral,  and  woolens  of  Europe,  and 
then  carried  to  Venice  and  Genoa,  whence  merchants  spread 
them  overall  Europe. ^  The  merchants  of  Genoa  traded  chiefly 
with  Constantinople,  and  those  of  Venice  with  Egypt. 

'  1  In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  food  was  coarse  and  cookery  poor,  cinnamon 
and  cloves,  nutmeg  and  mace,  allspice,  ginger,  and  pepper  were  highly  prized 
for  spicing  ale  or  seasoning  food.  But  all  these  spices  were  very  expensive  in 
Europe  because  they  had  to  be  brought  so  far  from  the  distant  East.  Even 
pepper,  which  is  now  used  by  every  one,  was  then  a  fit  gift  from  one  king  to 
another.  Camphor  and  rhubarb,  indigo,  musk,  sandalwood,  Brazil  wood,  aloes 
wood,  all  came  from  the  East.  Muslin  and  damask  bear  the  names  of  eastern 
cities  wlience  they  were  first  obtained.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  churches, 
palaces,  manor  houses,  and  homes  of  rich  merchants  were  adorned  with  the 
rugs  and  carpets  of  the  East. 

9 


10 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 


The  Turks  seize  the  Routes  of  Trade.  —  While  this  trade  was 
at  its  height,  Asia  Minor  (from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean) was  conquered  by  the  Turks,  the  caravan  routes  across 
that  country  were  seized,  and  when  Constantinople  was  cap- 
tured (in  1453),  the  trade  of  Genoa  was  ruined.  Should  the 
Turkish  conquests  be  extended  southward  to  Egypt  (as  later 


The  known  world  in  1490;  routes  to  India. 

they  were),  the  prosperity  of  Venice  would  likewise  be  de- 
stroyed, and  all  existing  trade  routes  to  the  Orient  would  be  in 
Turkish  hands. 

The  Portuguese  seek  a  New  Route.  —  Clearly  an  ocean  route 
to  the  East  was  needed,  and  on  the  discovery  of  such  a  route 
the  Portuguese  had  long  been  hard  at  work.  Fired  by  a  desire 
to  expand  Portugal  and  add  to  the  geographical  knowledge  of 
his  day.  Prince  Henry  "  the  Navigator  "  sent  out  explorer  after 
explorer,  who,  pushing  down  the  coast  of  Africa,  had  almost 


THE  NEW   WORLD   FOUND 


11 


A  caravel,  a  ship  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


reached  the  equator  before 
Prince  Henry  died.^  His 
successors  continued  the  good 
work,  the  equator  was  crossed, 
and  in  1487  Dias  passed  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  sailed 
eastward  till  his  sailors  mu- 
tinied. Ten  years  later  Vasco 
da  Gama  sailed  around  the 
end  of  Africa,  up  the  east 
coast,  and  on  to  India,  and 
brought  home  a  cargo  of 
eastern  products.  A  way  to  India  by  water  was  at  last  made 
known  to  Europe.^ 

Columbus  plans  a  Route.  —  Meanwhile  Christopher  Colum- 
bus^ planned  what  he  thought  would  be  a  shorter  ocean  route 

1  Prince  Henry  was  the  fourth  son  of  John  I,  king  of  Portugal.  In  1419  he 
established  his  home  on  Cape  St.  Vincent,  gathered  about  him  a  body  of  trained 
seamen,  and  during  forty  years  sent  out  almost  every  year  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion. His  pilots  discovered  the  Azores  and  the  Madeira  Islands.  He  died  in  1460. 
His  great  work  was  training  seamen.  Many  men  afterward  famous  as  discoverers 
and  navigators,  as  Dias  (dee'ahss).  Da  Gama  (dah  gah'ma),  Cabral  (ca-brahl'), 
Magel'lan,  and  Columbus,  served  under  Henry  or  his  successors. 

In  those  days  there  were  neither  steamships  nor  such  sailing  vessels  as  we 
have.  For  purposes  of  exploration  the  caravel  was  used.  It  was  from  60  to  100 
feet  long,  and  from  18  to  25  feet  broad,  and  had  three  masts  from  the  heads 
of  which  were  swung  great  sails.  Much  of  the  steering  was  done  by  turning  these 
sails.  Yet  it  was  in  such  little  vessels  that  some  of  the  most  famous  voyages  in 
history  were  made. 

2  These  voyages  were  possible  because  of  the  great  progress  which  had  re- 
cently been  made  in  the  art  of  navigation.  The  magnetic  compass  enabled 
seamen  to  set  their  course  when  the  sun  and  stars  could  not  be  seen.  The  astro- 
labe (picture,  p.  35)  made  it  possible  roughly  to  estimate  distances  from  the 
equator,  or  latitude.  These  instruments  enabled  mariners  to  go  on  long  voyages 
far  from  land.  Read  the  account  of  the  Portuguese  voyages  in  Fiske's  Discovery 
of  America,  Vol.  I,  pp.  294-334. 

3  Christopher  Columbus  was  a  native  of  Genoa,  Italy,  where  he  was  born 
about  1436.  He  was  the  son  of  a  wool  comber.  At  fourteen  he  began  a  seafar- 
ing life,  and  between  voyages  made  charts  and  globes.  About  1470  he  wan- 
dered to  Portugal,  went  on  one  or  two  voyages  down  the  African  coast,  and  on 
another  (1477)  went  as  far  north  as  Iceland.  Meantime  (1473)  he  married  a 
Portuguese  woman  and  made  his  home  at  the  Madeira  Islands;  and  it  was  while 
living  there  that  he  formed  the  plan  of  finding  a  new  route  to  the  far  East. 


12  DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATION 

to  the  East.  He  had  studied  all  that  was  known  of  geography 
in  his  time.  He  had  carefully  noted  the  results  of  recent 
voyages  of  exploration.  He  had  read  the  travels  of  Marco 
Polo^  and  had  learned  that  off  the  coast  of  China  was  a  rich 
and  wonderful  island  which  Polo  called  Cipango.  He  believed 
that  the  earth  is  a  sphere,  and  tliat  China  and  Cipango  could 
be  reached  by  sailing  about  2500  miles  due  westward  across 
the  Atlantic. 

Columbus  seeks  Aid.  — To  make  others  think  so  was  a  hard 
task,  for  nearly  everybody  believed  the  earth  to  be  flat,  and 
several  sovereigns  were  appealed  to  before  one  was  found  bold 
enough  to  help  him.  He  first  applied  to  the  king  of  Portugal, 
and  when  that  failed,  to  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain. ^  When 
they  seemed  deaf  to  his  appeal,  he  sent  his  brother  to  England, 
and  at  last,  wearied  with  waiting,  set  off  for  France.  Then 
Queen  Isabella  of  Spain  was  persuaded  to  act.     Columbus  was 

1  In  1271  Marco  Polo,  then  a  lad  of  seventeen,  was  taken  by  his  father  and 
uncle  from  Venice  to  the  coast  of  Persia,  and  thence  overland  to  northwestern 
China,  to  a  city  where  Kublai  Khan  held  his  court.  They  were  well  received, 
and  Marco  spent  many  years  making  journeys  in  the  khan's  service.  In  1292 
they  were  sent  to  escort  a  royal  bride  for  the  khan  from  Peking  (in  China)  to 
Tabriz,  a  city  in  Persia.  They  sailed  from  China  in  1292,  reached  the  Persian 
coast  in  1294,  and  arrived  safely  at  Tabriz,  whence  they  returned  to  Venice  in 
1295.  In  1298  Marco  was  captured  in  a  war  with  Genoa,  and  spent  about  a 
year  in  prison.  While  thus  confined  he  prepared  an  account  of  his  travels,  one 
of  the  most  famous  books  of  the  Middle  Ages.  He  described  China  (or  Cathay, 
as  it  was  then  called),  with  its  great  cities  teeming  with  people,  its  manufactures, 
and  its  wealth,  told  of  Tibet  and  Burma,  the  Indian  Archipelago  with  its  spice 
islands,  of  Java  and  Sumatra,  of  Hindustan, — all  from  personal  knowledge. 
From  hearsay  he  told  of  Japan.  In  the  course  of  the  next  seventy-five  years 
other  travelers  found  their  way  to  Cathay  and  wrote  about  it.  Thus  before  1400 
Europe  had  learned  of  a  great  ocean  to  the  east  of  Cathay,  and  of  a  wonderful 
island  kingdom,  Cipan'go  (Japan),  which  lay  off  its  coast.  All  this  deeply 
interested  Columbus,  and  his  copy  of  Marco  Polo  may  still  be  seen  with  its  mar- 
gins full  of  annotations. 

2  These  sovereigns  were  just  then  engaged  in  the  final  struggle  for  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Moors  from  Spain,  so  they  referred  the  appeal  to  the  queen's 
confessor,  who  laid  it  before  a  body  of  learned  men.  This  council  of  Salamanca 
made  sport  of  the  idea,  and  tried  to  prove  that  Columbus  was  wrong.  If  the 
world  were  round,  they  said,  people  on  the  other  side  must  walk  with  their 
heads  down,  which  was  absurd.  And  if  a  ship  should  sail  to  the  undermost 
part,  how  could  it  come  back  ?    Could  a  ship  sail  up  hill  ? 


THE   NEW   WORLD   FOUND 


13 


Lohiij'j  II' 


The  council  of  Salamanca 


recalled,^  ships  were  provided  vvitli  which  to  make  the  voyage, 
and  on  Friday,  the  3d  of  August,  1492,  the  /Santa  Maria 
(sahn'tah  mah-ree'ah),  the  Finta  (peen'tah),  and  the  Nina 
(neen'yah)  set  sail  from  Palos  (pah'ios),  on  one  of  the  great- 
est voyages  ever  made  by  men.^ 

1  On  the  way  to  France  Columbus  stopped,  by  good  luck,  at  the  monastery  of 
La  Rabida  (lah  rah'bee-dah),  and  so  interested  the  prior,  Juan  Perez  (hoo-alni' 
pa'rath),  in  his  scheme,  that  a  messenger  was  sent  to  beg  an  interview  for 
Perez  with  the  queen  of  Spain.  It  was  granted,  and  so  well  did  Perez  plead  the 
cause  of  his  friend  that  Columbus  was  summoned  to  court.  The  reward  Colum- 
bus demanded  for  any  discoveries  he  might  make  seemed  too  great,  and  was 
refused.  Thereupon,  mounting  his  mule,  he  again  set  off  for  France.  Scarcely 
had  he  started  when  the  royal  treasurer  rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  queen 
and  persuaded  her  to  send  a  messenger  to  bring  Columbus  back.  Then  his 
terms  were  accepted.  He  was  to  be  admiral  of  all  the  islands  and  countries  he 
might  discover,  and  have  a  part  of  all  the  gems,  gold,  and  silver  found  in  them. 

2  The  vessels  were  no  larger  than  modern  yachts.  The  Santa  Maria  was 
single-decked  and  ninety  feet  long.  The  Pinta  and  Nina  (picture,  p.  11)  were 
smaller  caravels,  and  neither  was  decked  amidships.  Jn  1893  reproductions  of 
the  three  vessels,  full  size  and  as  exact  as  possible,  were  sent  across  the  sea  by 
Spain,  and  exhibited  at  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago. 


14 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 


The  Voyage  Westward.  —  The  little  fleet  went  first  to  the 
Canary  Islands  and  thence  due  west  across  the  Sea  of  Darkness, 
as  the  Atlantic  was  called.  The  voyage  was  delightful,  but  every 
sight  and  sound  was  a  source  of  new  terror  to  the  sailors.  An 
eruption  of  a  volcano  at  the  Canaries  was  watched  with  dread  as 
an  omen  of  evil.  They  crossed  the  line  of  no  magnetic  variation, 
and  when  the  needle  of  the  compass  began  to  change  its  usual 
direction,  they  were  sure  it  was  bewitched.  They  entered  the 
great  Sargasso  Sea  and  were  frightened  out  of  their  wits  by 
the  strange  expanse  of  floating  vegetation.  They  entered  the 
?one  of  the  trade  winds,  and  as  the  breeze,  day  after  day, 
Steadily  wafted  them  westward,  the  boldest  feared  it  would  be 
impossible  to  return.     When  a  mirage  and  flights  of  strange 


w^ 


Sea  monsters  drawn  on  old  maps. 

birds  raised  hopes  that  were  not  promptly  realized,  the  sailors 
were  sure  they  had  entered  an  enchanted  realm .^ 

Land  Discovered.  —  Columbus,  who  was  above  such  fear, 
explained  the  unusual  sights,  calmed  the  fears  of  the  sailors, 
hid  from  them  the  true  distance  sailed,^  and  steadily  pursued 
his  way  till  unmistakable  signs  of  land  were  seen.  A  staff 
carved  by  hand  and  a  branch  with  berries  on  it  floated  by. 
Excitement  now  rose  high,  and  a  reward  was  promised  to  the 
man  who  first  saw  land.     At  last,  on  the  night  of  October  11, 

1  The  ideas  of  geography  held  by  the  unlearned  of  those  days  are  very  curious 
to  us.  They  believed  that  near  the  equator  was  a  fiery  zone  where  the  sea  boiled 
and  no  life  existed ;  that  hydras,  gorgons,  chimeras,  and  all  sorts  of  horrid 
monsters  inhabited  the  Sea  of  Darkness ;  and  that  in  the  Indian  Ocean  was  a 
lodestone  mountain  that  could  draw  nails  out  of  ships.  Because  of  the  way  in 
which  ships  disappeared  below  the  horizon,  it  was  believed  that  they  went  down 
hill,  and  that  if  they  went  too  far  they  could  never  get  back. 

2  The  object  of  Columbus  was  not  to  let  the  sailors  know  how  far  they  were 
from  home. 


THE  NEW   WORLD  FOUND 


15 


Columbus  beheld  a  light  moving  as  if  carried  by  hand  along  a 
shore.  A  few  hours  later  a  sailor  on  the  Pinta  saw  land  dis- 
tinctly, and  soon  all  beheld,  a  few  miles  away,  a  long,  low 
beach.  1 

The  Voyage  among  the  Islands.  —  Columbus  thought  he  had 
found  one  of  the  islands  of  the  Indies,  as  the   southern   and 

1  Columbus  was  not  the  first  European  to  reach  the  New  World.     About 
six  hundred  yeai-s  earlier,  Vikings  from  Norway  settled  in  Iceland,  and  from  the 


Ancient  Viking  ship  found  buried  in  Norway. 

Icelandic  chronicles  we  learn  that  about  986  a.d.  Eric  the  Red  planted  a  colony 
in  Greenland.  His  son,  Leif  Ericsson,  about  1000  a.d.,  led  a  party  south- 
westward  to  a  stony  country  which  was  probably  the  coast  of  Labrador  or 
Newfoundland.  Going  on  southward,  they  came  at  last  to  a  spot  where  wild 
grapes  grew.  To  this  spot,  probably  on  the  New  England  coast,  Leif  gave 
the  name  Vinland,  spent  the  winter  there,  and  in  the  spring  went  back  to 
Greenland  with  a  load  of  timber.  The  next  year  Leif 's  brother  sailed  to  Vinland 
and  passed  two  winters  there.  In  later  years  others  went,  but  none  remained 
long,  and  the  land  was  soon  forgotten.  Iceland  and  Greenland  were  looked 
upon  as  part  of  Europe  ;  and  the  Vikings'  discoveries  had  no  influence  on 
Columbus  and  the  explorers  who  followed  him.  Read  Fiske's  Discovery  of 
America^  Vol.  I,  pp.  148-255  ;  and  Longfellow's  Skeleton  in  Armor. 


16  DISCOVERY    AND   EXPLORATION 

eastern  parts  of  Asia  were  called.  Dressed  in  scarlet  and 
gold  and  followed  by  a  band  of  his  men  bearing  banners,  he 
landed,  fell  on  his  knees,  and  having  given  thanks  to  God,  took 
possession  for  Spain  and  called  the  island  San  Salvador  (sahn 
sahl-va-dor'),  which  means  Holy  Savior.  The  day  was  Octo- 
ber 12,  1492,  and  the  island  was  one  of  the  Bahamas.^ 

After  giving  red  caps,  beads,  and  trinkets  to  the  natives  who 
crowded  about  him,  Columbus  set  sail  to  explore  the  group 
and  presently  came  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Cuba,  which  he 
at  first  thought  was  Cipango.  Sailing  eastward,  landing  now 
and  then  to  seek  for  gold,  he  reached  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba, 
and  soon  beheld  the  island  of  Haiti  ;  this  so  reminded  him  of 
Spain  that  he  called  it  Hispaniola,  or  Little  Spain. 

The  First  Spanish  Colony  in  the  New  World.  — When  off  the 
Cuban  shore,  the  Pinta  deserted  Columbus.  On  the  coast  of 
Haiti  the  Santa  Maria  was  wrecked.  To  carry  all  his  men  back, 
to  Spain  in  the  little  Niria  was  impossible.  Such,  therefore, 
as  were  willing  were  left  at  Haiti,  and  founded  La  Navidad, 
the  first  colony  of  Europeans  in  the  New  World. ^  This  done, 
Columbus  sailed  for  home,  taking  with  him  ten  natives,  and 
specimens  of  the  products  of  the  lands  he  had  discovered. 

The  Voyage  Home.  —  The  Pinta  was  overtaken  off  the 
Haitian  coast,  but  a  dreadful  storm  parted  the  ships  once 
more,  and  neither  again  saw  the  other  till  the  day  when,  but 
a  few  hours  apart,  they  dropped  anchor  in  the  haven  of  Palos, 
whence  they  had  sailed  seven  months  before.  As  the  news 
spread,  the  people  went  wild  with  joy.  The  journey  of  Colum- 
bus to  Barcelona  was  a  triumphal  procession.  At  Barcelona 
he  was  received  with  great  ceremony  by  the  king  and  queen, 

1  Nobody  knows  just  which  of  the  Bahamas  Columbus  discovered.  Three 
of  the  group — Cat,  Turks,  and  Watling  —  each  claim  the  honor.  At  present 
Watling  is  believed  to  have  been  San  Salvador.  A  good  account  of  the  voyage 
is  given  in  Irving' s  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus,  Vol.  I,  Book  iii,  and  in 
Fiske's  Discovery  of  Amenca,  Vol.  I,  pp.  408-442. 

2  When  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage  returned  to  Hispaniola,  he  found 
that  every  one  of  the  forty  colonists  had  perished.  They  had  been  killed  by  the 
natives. 


THE  NEW  WORLD   FOUND 


17 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


0       100 


300     400     600     600 


<*"        The  lands  discovered  by  Columbus 
■^  are  shown  in  solid  black. 

SAN    SALVADOR     ^ 


porto  rico 

^^(boriquen) 

*  • 

OOMINICA 

SEA        y^ 


.°!o<    .  ^^\'' 


CO  I 


The  West  Indies  —  showing  the  discoveries  of  Columbus. 

and  soon  afterward  was  sent  back  with  many  ships  and  men 
to  found  a  colony  and  make  further  explorations  in  the  Indies. 
Other  Voyages  of  Columbus.  —  In  all  Columbus  made  four 
voyages  to  the  New  World.  On  the  second  (1493)  he  discovered 
Porto  Rico,  Jamaica,  and  other  islands.  On  the  third  (1498) 
he  saw  the  mainland  of  South  America  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco  River.i  On  the  fourth  (1502-4)  he  sailed  along  the 
shores  of  Central  America.  Returning  to  Spain,  he  died  poor, 
neglected,  and  broken-hearted  in  1506.2 

1  Despite  the  great  thing  he  did  for  Spain,  Columbus  lost  favor  at  court. 
Evil  men  slandered  him  ;  his  manner  of  governing  the  new  lands  was  falsely- 
represented  to  the  king  and  queen  ;  a  new  governor  was  sent  out,  and  Columbus 
was  brought  back  in  chains.  Though  soon  released,  he  was  never  restored  to 
his  rights. 

2  Columbus  was  buried  at  Valladolid,  in  Spain,  but  in  1513  his  body  was 
taken  to  a  monastery  at  Seville.  There  it  remained  till  1536,  when  it  was  carried 
to  Santo  Domingo  in  Haiti.  In  1796  it  was  removed  and  buried  with  imposing 
ceremonies  at  Havana  in  Cuba.  In  1898,  when  Spain  was  driven  from  Cuba, 
his  bones  were  carried  back  to  Seville. 

McM.  BRIEF 2 


18  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 

Columbus  believed  he  reached  the  Indies.  —  To  his  dying 
day  Columbus  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  he  had  led  the  way 
to  a  new  continent.  He  supposed  he  had  reached  the  Indies. 
The  lands  he  discovered  were  therefore  spoken  of  as  the  Indies, 
and  their  inhabitants  were  called  Indians,  a  name  given  in  time 
to  the  copper-colored  natives  of  both  North  and  South  America. 

Spain^s  Claim  to  New-found  Lands.  —  One  of  the  first  results 
of  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  was  an  appeal  to  the  Pope  for  a 
bull  securing  to  Spain  the  heathen  lands  discovered ;  for  a  bull 
had  secured  to  Portugal  the  discoveries  of  her  mariners  along 
the  coast  of  Africa.  Pope  Alexander  VI  accordingly  drew  a 
north  and  south  line  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands,  and  gave  to  Spain  all  she  might  discover  to  the 
west  of  it,  reserving  to  Portugal  all  she  might  discover  to  the 
east.  A  year  later  (1494)  Spain  and  Portugal  by  treaty  moved 
the  "Line  of  Demarcation"  to  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues 
west  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  (map,  p.  20),  and  on  this  agree- 
ment, approved  by  the  Pope,  Spain  rested  her  claim  to  America. 

SUMMARY 

1.  For  many  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America,  Europe  had 
been  trading  with  the  far  East. 

2.  The  routes  of  this  trade  were  being  closed  by  the  Turks. 

3.  Columbus  believed  a  new  route  could  be  found  by  sailing  due  west- 
ward from  Europe. 

4.  After  many  years  of  fruitless  effort  to  secure  aid  to  test  his  plan,  he 
obtained  help  from  Spain. 

5.  On  his  first  voyage  westward  Columbus  discovered  the  Bahama 
Islands,  Cuba,  and  Haiti ;  on  his  later  voyages,  various  other  lands  about  the 
Caribbean  Sea. 

6.  In  the  belief  that  he  had  reached  the  Indies,  the  lands  Columbus 
found  were  called  the  Indies,  and  their  inhabitants  Indians. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE   ATLANTIC   COAST   AND   THE   PACIFIC   DISCOVERED 

The  Atlantic  Coast  Line  Explored.  —  Columbus  having  shown 
the  way,  English,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese  explorers  followed. 
Some  came  in  search  of  China  or  the  Spice  Islands ;  some  were 
in  quest  of  gold  and  pearls.  The  result  was  the  exploration  of 
the  Atlantic  coast  line  from  Labrador  to  the  end  of  South 
America. 

Some  Famous  Voyages.  —  In  1497  John  Cabot,  sailing  from 
England,  reached  Newfoundland,  which  he  believed  to  be  part 
of  China.  ^     In  1498  John  Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian,  while 


Record  of  payment  of  John  Cabot's  pension  for  1499.2 

Photographed  from  the  original  accounts  of  the  Bristol  customs  collectors,  now  in  Westminster 

Abbey,  London. 

1  This  discovery  made  a  great  stir  in  Bristol,  the  port  from  which  Cabot  sailed. 
A  letter  written  at  the  time  states,  "  Honors  are  heaped  upon  Cabot.  He  is 
called  Grand  Admiral,  he  is  dressed  in  silk,  and  the  English  run  after  him  like 
madmen."  The  king  gave  him  £10  and  a  pension  of  £20  a  year,  A  pound 
sterling  in  those  days  was  in  purchasing  power  quite  the  equal  of  fifty  dollars 
in  our  time. 

2  BristoU  —  Arthurus  Kemys  et  Ricardus  ap.  Meryke  collectores  custumarum 
et  subsidiorum  regis  ibidem  a:  festo  Sancti  Michaelis  Archangeli  anno  xiiii  mo 
Regis  nunc  usque  idem  festum  Sancti  Michaelis  tunc  proximo  sequens  reddunt 
computum  de  mccccxxiiii  li.  vii  s.  x  d.  quadr.  De  quibus.  .  .  .  Item  in 
thesauro  in  una  tallia  pro  Johanne  Cabot,  xx  li.  Translation:  "Bristol  — 
Arthur  Kemys  and  Richard  ap  Meryke,  collectors  of  the  king's  customs  and 
subsidies  there,  from  Michaelmas  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  this  king's  reign 
[Henry  VII]  till  the  same  feast  next  following  render  their  account  of  £  1424 
7  s.  10^  d.  .  .  .     In  the  treasury  is  one  tally  for  John  Cabot,  £  20." 

19 


H  u  d  s  o  V^M-^'-'-'-m^^ 


ALL  LANDS  ON  THIS  SIDE  CLAIMED  BY  SPAIN 


.SOUTH    GEORGIi 


ALL  LANDS  ON  THIS  SIDE  CLAIMED  BY  fORTUGAL 


Discovery  on  the  east  coast  of  America 
20 


THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  21 

in  search  of  the  Spice  Islands,  sailed  along  the  coast  from  New- 
foundland to  what  is  now  South  Carolina.  ^ 

Before  1500  Spaniards  in  search  of  gold,  or  pearls,  or  new 
lands  had  explored  the  coast  line  from  Central  America  to 
Cape  St.  Roque.2 

In  1500  Cabral,  while  on  his  way  from  Portugal  to  India 
by  Da  Gama's  route  (p.  11),  sailed  so  far  westward  that  he 
sighted  the  coat^  of  the  country  now  called  Brazil.  Cabral 
went  on  his  way  ;  but  sent  back  a  ship  to  the  king  of  Portugal 
with  the  news  that  the  new-found  land  lay  east  of  the  I^ine  of 
Demarcation.  The  king  dispatched  (1501)  an  expedition  which 
explored  the  coast  southward  nearly  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Plata  River. 

Some  Results  of  these  Voyages.  —  The  results  of  these  voy- 
ages were  many  and  important.  They  furnished  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  coast  ;  they  proved  the  existence  of  a  great 
mass  of  land  called  the  New  World,  but  still  supposed  to  be  a 
part  of  Asia ;  they  secured  Brazil  for  Portugal,  and  led  to  the 
naming  of  our  continent. 

Why  the  New  World  was  called  America.  —  In  the  party  sent 
by  the  king  of  Portugal  to  explore  the  coast  of  Brazil,  was  an 
Italian  named  Amerigo  Vespucci  (ah-ma'ree-go  ves-poot'chee), 
or  Americus  Vespucius,  who  had  twice  before  visited  the  coast 
of  South  America.  Of  these  three  voyages  and  of  a  fourth 
Vespucius  wrote  accounts.  They  were  widely  read,  led  to  the 
belief  that  he  had  discovered  a  new  or  fourth  part  of  the  world, 
and  caused  a  German  professor  of  geography  to  suggest  that 
this  fourth  part  should  be  called  America.  The  name  was 
applied  first  to  what  is  now  Brazil,  then  to  all  South  America, 
and  finally  also  to  North  America,  when  it  was  found,  long 

1  These  voyages  of  Cabot  were  not  followed  up  at  the  time.  But  in  the  days 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  more  than  eighty  years  later,  they  were  made  the  basis  of 
the  English  claim  to  a  part  of  North  America. 

2  On  one  of  these  voyages  the  Spaniards  saw  an  Indian  village  built  over  the 
water  on  piles,  with  bridges  joining  the  houses.  This  so  reminded  them  of  Ven- 
ice that  they  called  it  Venezuela  (little  Venice),  a  name  afterward  applied  to  a 
vast  extent  of  country. 


22  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 

Nuc)?o  &Iig  partes  funtIatiusluftrat3e/&  alia 
quarta  pars  per  America  Vefputiuc vt  in  fequenti 
bus  audietur  )inuenta  eft/qua  non  video  cur  quis 
iure  vctet  ab  Americo  inuentore  fagacis  ingcnij  vi 
Amcri^  roAmerigenquafi  Amend  terra  /  Cue  Americam 
ca  dicendarcii  Sc  Europa  8c  Afia  a  mulicribus  fua  for 

tita  fiiit  nomina^Eius  fitu  &  gentis-mores  ex  bis  hi 
nis  Amend  nauigationibus  quaij  fequunt  liquidc 
iiitelligidatur* 

The  first  printed  suggestion  of  the  name  America.i 

Part  of  a  page  from  WaldseernuUer's  book  Cosmographie  Introductio,  printed  In  1507,  now  in  the 
Lenox  Library,  New  York. 

afterward,  that  North  America  was  part  of  the  new  continent 
and  not  part  of  Asia. 

Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific.  —  The  man  who  led  the  way  to 
the  discovery  that  America  was  not  part  of  Asia  was  Balbo'a.^ 
He  came  to  the  eastern  border  of  Panama  (1510)  with  a  band 
of  Spaniards  seeking  gold.  There  they  founded  the  town  of 
Darien  and  in  time  made  Balboa  their  commander.  He  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  a  chief,  made  friends  with  the  Indians, 
and  heard  from  them  of  a  great  body  of  water  across  the  moun- 
tains. This  he  determined  to  see,  and  in  1513,  with  Indian 
guides  and  a  party  of  Spaniards,  made  his  way  through  dense 
and  tangled  forests  and  from  the  summit  of  a  mountain  looked 
down  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  he  called  the  South  Sea. 

1  "But  now  these  parts  [Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa]  have  been  more  widely 
explored,  and  another  fourth  part  has  been  discovered  by  Americus  Vespucius 
(as  will  appear  in  the  following  pages);  so  I  do  not  see  why  any  one  should 
rightly  object  to  calling  it  Amerige  or  America,  i.e.  land  of  Americus,  after  its 
discoverer  Americus,  a  man  of  sagacious  mind  —  since  both  Europe  and  Asia  are 
named  after  women.  Its  situation  and  the  ways  of  its  people  may  be  clearly 
understood  from  the  four  voyages  of  Americus  which  follow." 

2  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  had  come  from  Spain  to  Haiti  and  settled  down  as 
a  planter,  but  when  (1510)  an  expedition  was  about  to  sail  for  South  America 
to  plant  a  colony  near  Panama,  Balboa  longed  to  join  it.  He  was  in  debt ;  so 
lest  his  creditors  should  prevent  his  going,  he  had  himself  nailed  up  in  a  barrel 
and  put  on  board  one  of  the  ships  with  the  provisions. 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 


23 


Four  days  later,  standing  on  the  shore,  he  waited  till  the  rising 
tide  came  rolling  in,  and  then  rushing  into  the  water,  sword  in 
hand,  he  took  possession  of  the  ocean 
in  the  name  of  Spain. ^ 

The  Pacific  Crossed ;  the  Philippines 
Discovered.  —  The  Portuguese  mean- 
time, by  sailing  around  Africa,  had 
reached  the  Spice  Islands.  So  far 
beyond  India  were  these  islands  that 
the  Portuguese  sailor  Ferdinand  Ma- 
gellan took  up  the  old  idea  of  Colum- 
bus, and  maintained  that  they  could 
be  most  easily  reached  by  sailing 
west.     To  this  proposition  the  king 

1  In  the  course  of  expeditions  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  ^lexico,  the  Spaniards  heard 
of  a  mighty  king,  Montezuma,  who  ruled  many 
cities  in  the  interior  and  had  great  stores  of 
gold.  In  1519  Cor'tes  landed  with  450  men 
and  a  few  horses,  sank  his  ships,  and  began 
inland  one  of  the  most  wonderful  marches 
in  all  history.  The  account  of  the  great  things 
which  he  did,  of  the  marvelous  cities  he  con- 
quered, of  the  strange  and  horrible  sights  he 
saw,  reads  like  fiction.  Six  days  after  reaching 
the  city  of  Mexico,  he  seized  Montezuma  and 
made  himself  the  real  ruler  of  the  country ; 
but  later  the  Mexicans  rose  against  him  and  he 
had  to  conquer  them  by  hard  fighting.  Read 
the  story  of  the  conquest  as  briefly  told  in  Fiske's  Discovery  of  America^  Vol. 
II,  pp.  245-293. 

The  Spaniards  also  heard  rumors  of  a  golden  kingdom  to  the  southward 
where  the  Incas  ruled.  After  preliminary  voyages  of  exploration  Francisco 
Pizarro  sailed  from  Panama  in  1531  with  200  men  and  50  horses  to  conquer  Peru. 
Landing  on  the  coast  he  marched  inland  to  the  camp  of  the  Inca,  a  young 
man  who  had  just  seized  the  throne.  The  sight  of  the  white  strangers  clad  in 
shining  armor,  wielding  thunder  and  lightning  (firearms),  and  riding  unearthly 
beasts  (horses  were  unknown  to  the  Indians),  caused  wonder  and  dread  in 
Peru  as  it  had  in  Mexico.  The  Inca  was  made  prisoner  and  hundreds  of  his 
followers  were  killed.  He  offered  to  fill  his  prison  room  with  gold  as  high  as  he 
could  reach  if  Pizarro  would  set  him  free  ;  the  offer  was  accepted  and  in  1533 
some  $15,000,000  in  gold  was  divided  among  the  conquerors.  The  Inca,  how- 
ever, was  put  to  death,  and  the  Spaniards  took  possession  of  the  whole  country. 


Spanish  helmet  and  shirt  of 

mail  found  in  Mexico. 
Now  in  Essex  Hall,  Salem,  Mass. 


24  DISCOVERY   AND   EXPLORATION 

of  Portugal  would  not  listen  ;  so  Magellan  persuaded  the  king 
of  Spain  to  let  him  try  ;  and  in  1519  set  sail  with  five  small  ships. 
He  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  mouth  of  the  Plata,  and  went 
south  till  storms  and  cold  drove  him  into  winter  quarters.^ 
In  August,  1520  (early  spring  in  the  southern  hemisphere), 
he  went  on  his  way  and  entered  the  strait  which  now  bears  his 
name.  One  of  the  ships  had  been  wrecked.  In  the  strait 
another  stole  away  and  went  home.  The  three  remaining  ves- 
sels passed  safely  through,  and  out  into  an  ocean  so  quiet  com- 
pared with  the  stormy  Atlantic  that  Magellan  called  it  the 
Pacific.  Across  this  the  explorers  sailed  for  five  months  before 
they  came  to  a  group  of  islands  which  Magellan  called  the 
Ladrones  (Spanish  for  robbers}  because  the  natives  were  so 
thievish. 2  Ten  days  later  they  reached  another  group,  after- 
ward named  the  Philippines.^ 

On  one  of  these  islands  Magellan  and  many  of  his  men  were 
slain.*  Two  of  the  ships  then  went  southward  to  the  Spice 
Islands,  where  they  loaded  with  spices.  One  now  started  for 
Panama,  but  was  forced  to  return.  The  other  sailed  around 
Africa,  and  in  1522  reached  Spain  in  safety,  it  had  sailed 
around  the  world.     The  surviving  captain   was   greatly  hon- 

1  None  of  Magellan's  vessels  were  as  large  as  the  Saiita  Maria,  and  three 
were  smaller  than  the  Nina.  The  sailors  demanded  that  Magellan  return  to 
Spain.  When  he  refused,  the  captains  and  crews  of  three  ships  mutinied,  and 
were  put  down  with  difficulty. 

2  Guam,  which  now  belongs  to  our  country,  is  one  of  the  Ladrones. 

3  The  Spaniards  took  possession  of  the  Philippines  a  few  years  later,  and  in 
1571  founded  Manila.  The  group  was  named  after  Philip  II  of  Spain.  In  1555 
a  Spanish  navigator  discovered  the  Hawaiian  Islands  ;  but  though  they  were  put 
down  on  the  early  Spanish  charts,  the  Spaniards  did  not  take  possession  of  them. 
Indeed,  these  islands  were  practically  forgotten,  and  two  centuries  passed  before 
they  were  rediscovered  by  the  English  explorer,  Captain  Cook,  in  1778. 

4  Magellan  was  a  very  religious  man,  and  after  making  an  alliance  with  the 
king  of  the  island  of  Cebu,  he  set  about  converting  the  natives  to  Christianity. 
The  king,  greatly  impressed  by  the  wonders  the  white  man  did,  consented.  A 
bonfire  was  lighted,  the  idols  were  thrown  in,  a  cross  was  set  up,  and  the  natives 
were  baptized.  This  done,  the  king  called  on  Magellan  to  help  him  attack  the 
chief  of  a  neighboring  island;  but  in  the  attack  Magellan  was  killed  and  his 
men  put  to  flight.  This  defeat  so  angered  the  king  that  he  invited  thirty 
Spaniards  to  a  feast,  massacred  them,  cut  down  the  cross,  and  again  turned 
pagan. 


THE  ATLANTIC  COAST 


25 


ored.     The  king  ennobled  him,  and  on  his  coat  of  arms  was 
a  globe  with  the  motto  "  You  first  sailed  around  me." 

Results  of  the  Voy- 
age.—  Of  all  the  voyages 
ever  made  by  man  up  to 
that  time,  this  of  Magel- 
lan and  his  men  was  the 
greatest.  It  gave  posi- 
tive proof  that  the  earth 
is  a  sphere.  It  revealed 
the  vast  width  of  the 
Pacific.  It  showed  that 
America  was  probably 
not  a  part  of  Asia,  and 
changed  the  geograph- 
ical ideas  of  the  time.^ 


Magellan's  ship  that  sailed  around  the  world. 


The  Coast  of  Florida  Explored.  —  What  meantime  had  hap- 
pened along  the  coast  of  North  America?  In  1513  Ponce  de 
Leon  2  (pon'tha  da  la-on'),  a  Spaniard,  sailed  northwest  from 
Porto  Rico  in  search  of  an  island  which  the  Indians  told  him 
contained  gold,  and  in  which  he  believed  was  a  fountain  or 
stream  whose  waters  would  restore  youth  to  the  old.  In  the 
season  of  Easter,  or  Pascua  Florida,  he  came  upon  a  land 
which  he  called  Florida.  Ponce  supposed  he  had  found  an 
island,  and  following  the  coast  southward  went  round  the 
peninsula  and  far  up  the  west  coast  before  going  back  to  Porto 
Rico.  3 


1  Read  the  account  in  Fiske's  Discovery  of  America^  Vol.  II,  pp.  190-211, 

2  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  had  sailed  with  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage,  and 
had  settled  in  Haiti.  Hearing  that  there  was  gold  in  Porto  Rico,  he  explored  it 
for  Spain,  in  1509  was  made  its  governor,  and  in  1511  founded  the  city  of  San 
Juan  (sahn  hoo-ahn').  After  he  was  removed  from  the  governorship,  he 
obtained  leave  to  search  for  the  island  of  Bimini. 

3  He  now  obtained  authority  to  colonize  the  supposed  island  ;  but  several 
years  passed  before  he  was  ready  to  make  the  attempt.  He  then  set  off  with 
arms,  tools,  horses,  and  two  hundred  men,  landed  on  the  west  coast  of  Florida, 
lost  many  men  in  a  fight  with  the  Indians,  and  received  a  wound  of  which  he 
died  soon  after  in  Cuba. 


26 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 


of,5e^'""' 


Spanish  explorations  in  North  America  to  1600. 

The  Gulf  Coast  Explored.  —  In  1519  another  Spaniard,  Pi- 
neda (pe-na'da),  sailed  along  the  Gulf  coast  from  P'lorida  to 
Mexico.  On  the  way  he  entered  the  mouth  of  a  broad  river 
which  he  named  River  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  was  long  sup- 
posed that  this  river  was  the  Mississippi ;  but  it  is  now  claimed 
to  have  been  the  Mobile.  Whatever  it  was,  Pineda  spent 
six  weeks  in  its  waters,  saw  many  Indian  towns  on  its  banks, 
traded  with  the  natives,  and  noticed  that  they  wore  gold  orna- 
ments. 

The  Expedition  of  Narvaez.  —  Pineda's  story  of  Indians  with 
gold  ornaments  so  excited  Narvaez(nar-vah'eth)  that  he  obtained 
leave  to  conquer  the  country,  and  sailed  from  Cuba  with  four 
hundred  men.  Landing  on  the  west  coast  of  Plorida,  he  made 
a  raid  inland.  When  he  returned  to  the  coast  the  ships  which 
were  sailing  about  watching  for  him  were  nowhere  to  be  seen. 
After  marching  westward  for  a  month  the  Spaniards  built  five 
small  boats,  put  to  sea,  and  sailing  near  the  shore  came  pres- 
ently to  where  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  rush  into  the  Gulf. 


THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  "  27 

Two  boats  were  upset  by  the  surging  waters.  The  others 
reached  the  coast  beyond,  where  all  save  four  of  the  Spaniards 
perished. 

Four  Spaniards  cross  the  Continent.  —  After  suffering  great 
hardships  and  meeting  with  all  sorts  of  adventures  among  the 
Indians,  the  four  survivors,  led  by  Cabeza  de  Vaca  (ca-ba'tha 
da  vah'ca),  walked  across  what  is  now  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  and  Mexico  to  a  little  Spanish  town  near  the  Pacific 
coast.     They  had  crossed  the  continent.^ 

New  Mexico  Explored.  —  Cabeza  de  Vaca  had  wonderful 
tales  to  relate  of  "hunchback  cov/s,"  as  he  called  the  buffalo, 
and  of  cities  in  the  interior  where  gold  and  silver  were  plenti- 
ful and  where  the  doorways  were  studded  with  precious  stones. ^ 

Excited  by  these  tales,  the  Spanish  viceroy  of  Mexico  sent 
Fray  Marcos  to  gather  further  information. ^  Aided  by  the 
Indians,  Marcos  made  his  way  over  the  desert  and  came  p*t 
last  to  the  "  cities,"  which  were  only  the  pueblos  of  the  Zuiii 
(zoo'nyee)  Indians  in  New  Mexico.  The  pueblos  were  houses 
several  stories  high,  built  of  stone  or  of  sun-dried  brick,  and 
each  large  enough  for  several  hundred  Indians  to  live  in.  But 
Marcos  merely  saw  them  at  a  distance,  for  one  of  his  followers 
who  went  in  advance  was  killed  by  the  Zuiii,  whereupon  Marcos 
fled  back  to  Mexico.  / 

The  Spaniards  reach  Kansas.  —  Marcos's  reports  about  the 
seven  cities  of  Cibola  (see' bo-la),  as  he  called  them,  aroused 

1  The  story  of  this  remarkable  march  across  the  continent  is  told  in  The 
Spanish  Pioneers,  by  C.  F.  Luramis. 

2  There  was  a  tradition  in  Europe  that  when  the  Arabs  conquered  Spain  in 
the  eighth  century,  a  certain  bishop  with  a  goodly  following  fled  to  some  islands 
far  out  in  the  Sea  of  Darkness  and  founded  seven  cities.  When  the  Spaniards 
came  in  contact  with  the  Indians  of  Mexico,  they  were  told  of  seven  caves  from" 
which  the  ancestors  of  the  natives  had  issued,  and  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  seven  caves  were  the  seven  cities  ;  and  when  Cabeza  de  Vaca  came  with  his 
story  of  the  wonderful  cities  of  the  north,  it  was  believed  that  they  were  the 
towns  built  by  the  bishop. 

3  At  an  Indian  village  in  Mexico,  Marcos  heard  of  a  country  to  the  north- 
ward where  there  were  seven  cities  with  houses  of  two,  three,  and  four  stories,  and 
that  of  the  chief  with  five.  On  the  doorsills  and  lintels  of  the  best  houses,  he 
was  told,  were  turquoise  stones. 


28 


DISCOVERY   AND  EXPLORATION 


Pueblo,  wooden  plow,  and  ox  cart. 

great  interest,  and  Corona' do  was  sent  with  an  army  to  con- 
quer them.  Marching  up  the  east  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia and  across  Arizona,  Coronado  came  at  last  to  the  pueblos 
and  captured  them  one  by  one.  He  found  no  gold,  but  did  see 
doorways  studded  with  the  green  stones  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Much  disappointed,  he  pushed  on  eastAvard,  and  during 
two  years  wandered  about  over  the  plains  of  our  great  South- 
west and  probably  reached  the  center  of  what  is  now  Kansas.^ 
De  Soto  on  the  Mississippi.  —  As  Coronado  was  making  his 
way  home,  an  Indian  woman  escaped  from  his  army,  and  while 
wandering  about  fell  in  with  a  band  of  Spaniards  belonging  to 
the  army  of  De  Soto.^ 

1  Read  The  Spanish  Pioneers,  by  C.  F.  Lummis,  pp.  77-88,  101-143.  The 
year  that  Coronado  returned  to  Mexico  (1542)  an  expedition  under  Cabrillo 
(kah-breel'yo)  coasted  from  Mexico  along  what  is  now  California.  Cabrillo  died 
in  San  Diego  harbor. 

2  Hernando  de  Soto  was  born  about  1500  in  Spain,  and  when  of  age  went 
to  Panama  and  thence  to  Peru  with  Pizarro.  In  the  conquest  of  Peru  he  so  dis- 
tinguished himself  that  on  returning  to  Spain  he  was  made  governor  of  Cuba. 


THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  29 

De  Soto,  as  governor  of  Cuba,  had  been  authorized  to 
conquer  and  hold  all  the  territory  that  had  been  discovered  by 
Narvaez.  He  set  out  accordingly  in  1539,  landed  an  army  at 
Tampa  Bay,  and  spent  three  years  in  wandering  over  Florida, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi.  In  the  spring  of  1542  he 
crossed  the  Mississippi  River  and  entered  Arkansas,  and  it  was 
there  that  one  of  his  bands  met  the  Indian  woman  who  escaped 
from  Coronado's  army.  In  Arkansas  De  Soto  died  of  fever, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Mississippi  River.  His  followers  then 
built  a  few  boats,  floated  down  the  river  to  the  Gulf,  and 
following  the  coast  of  Texas  came  finally  to  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments in  Mexico. 

The  French  on  the  Coast.  —  Far  to  the  northeast  explorers  of 
another  European  nation  by  this  time  were  seeking  a  foothold. 
When  John  Cabot  came  home  from  his  first  voyage  to  the 
Newfoundland  coast,  he  told  such  tales  of  cod  fisheries  there- 
abouts, that  three  small  ships  set  sail  from  England  to  catch 
fish  and  trade  with  the  natives  of  the  new-found  isle.  Portu- 
guese and  Frenchmen  followed,  and  year  after  year  visited  the 
Newfoundland  fisheries.  No  serious  attempt  was  made  to  settle 
the  island.  What  Europe  wanted  was  a  direct  westward 
passage  through  America  to  Cathay.  This  John  Verrazano, 
an  Italian  sailing  under  the  flag  of  France,  attempted  to  find, 
and  came  to  what  is  now  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.  There 
Verrazano  turned  northward,  entered  several  bays  along  the 
coast,  sailed  by  the  rock-bound  shores  of  Maine,  and  when  off 
Newfoundland  steered  for  France. 

The  French  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Verrazano  was  followed 
(1534)  by  Jacques  C^tier  (zhak  car-tya'),  also  in  search  of  a 
passage  to  Cathay.  Reaching  Newfoundland  (map,  p.  114), 
Cartier  passed  through  the  strait  to  the  north  of  it,  and  explored 
a  part  of  the  gulf  to  the  west.  A  year  later  he  came  again, 
named  the  gulf  _St.  Lawrence,  and  entered  the  St.  Lawrence 
River,  which  he  thought  was  a  strait  leading  to  China.  Up 
this  river  he  sailed  till  stopped  by  the  rapids  which  he  named 
Lachine  (Chinese).     Near  by  was  a  high  hill  which  he  called 


30 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 


Indian  long  house 


Mont  Real  (re-ahl'),  or  Mount  Royal.     At  its  base  now  stands 

the  city  of  Montreal. ^   From  this  place  the  French  went  back  to 

a  steep  cliff  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Quebec,  and,  it  is  be- 

^  lieved,  spent  the  win- 

-      ^^  -  "'     --  ^^  '■'       -  -1  .  ter  there.    The  winter 

was  a  terrible  one,  and 
when  the  ice  left  the 
river  they  returned  to 
France  (1536). 

Not  discouraged, 
Cartier  (1641)  came  a 
third  time  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  river.  But  hunger,  mutiny, 
and  the  severit}^  of  the  winter  brought  the  venture  to  naught.^ 
No  Settlements  in  our  Country.  —  From  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbus  to  the  expeditions  of  De  Soto,  Coronado,  and  Car- 
tier,  fifty  years  had  passed.  The  coast  of  the  new  continent 
had  been  roughly  explored  as  far  north  as  Labrador  on  the 
east  and  California  on  the  west.  The  Spaniards  in  quest  of 
gold  and  silver  mines  had  conquered  and  colonized  the  West 
Indies,  Mexico,  and  parts  of  South  America.  Yet  not  a  settle- 
ment had  been  made  in  our  country.     Many  rivers  and  bays 

1  Landing  on  this  spot,  Cartier  set  forth  to  visit  the  great  Indian  village  of 
Hochelaga.  He  found  it  surrounded  with  a  palisade  of  tree  trunks  set  in  three 
rows.  Entering  the  narrow  gate,  he  beheld  some  fifty  long  houses  of  sapling 
frames  covered  with  bark,  each  containing  many  fires,  one  for  a  family.  From 
these  houses  came  swarms  of  women  and  children,  who  crowded  about  the 
visitors,  touched  their  beards,  and  patted  their  faces.  Soon  the  warriors  came 
and  squatted  row  after  row  around  the  French,  for  whom  mats  were  brought 
and  laid  on  the  ground.  This  done,  the  chief,  a  paralyzed  old  savage,  was  car- 
ried in,  and  Cartier  was  besought  by  signs  to  heal  him,  and  when  Cartier  had 
touched  him,  all  the  sick,  lame,  and  blind  in  the  village  were  brought  out  for 
treatment.  Read  Parkman's  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  Worlds  pp.  187- 
193. 

2  As  Cartier  was  on  his  way  home  he  stopped  at  the  harbor  of  St.  Johns  in 
Newfoundland,  a  harbor  then  frequented  by  fishermen  from  the  Old  World. 
There  he  was  met  by  three  ships  and  200  colonists  under  Roberval,  who  ordered 
him  to  return.  But  one  night  Cartier  slipped  away  in  the  darkness.  Roberval 
went  on  to  the  site  of  Quebec  and  there  planted  his  colony.  What  became  of 
it  is  not  known  ;  but  that  it  did  not  last  long  is  certain,  and  many  years  passed 
before  France  repeated  the  attempt  to  gain  a  foothold  on  the  great  river  of 
Canada. 


THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  31 

had  been  discovered ;  two  great  expeditions  had  gone  into 
the  interior ;  but  there  were  no  colonies  on  the  mainland  of 
what  is  now  the  United  States. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  voyage  of  Columbus  led  to  many  other  voyages,  prompted 
chiefly  by  a  hope  of  finding  gold.  They  resulted  in  the  exploration  of  the 
coast  of  America,  and  may  be  grouped  according  to  the  parts  explored, 
as  follows :  — 

2.  The  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  was  explored  (1497-1535)  by 
Cabot  (for  England)  —  from  Newfoundland  to  South  Carolina. 

Ponce  de  Leon  (for  Spain)  —  peninsula  of  Florida. 

Verrazano  (for  France)  —  from  North  Carolina  to  Newfoundland. 

Cartier  (for  France)  — Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

3.  The  Gulf  and  Caribbean  coasts  of  North  America  were  explored 
(1502-1528)  for  Spain  by 

Columbus  —  Central  America. 

Ponce  de  Leon  —  west  coast  of  Florida. 

Pineda  —  from  Florida  to  Mexico. 

Narvaez  expedition  —  from  Florida  to  Texas. 

4.  The  Atlantic  coast  of  South  America  was  explored  (1498-1520)  by 
Columbus  —  mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 

Other  explorers  for  Spain  —  whole  northern  coast. 

Cabral  (for  Portugal)  — part  of  eastern  coast. 

Vespucius  (for  Portugal) — eastern  coast  nearly  to  the  Plata  River. 

Magellan  (for  Spain)  —  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan. 

5.  The  Pacific  coast  of  America  was  explored  (1513-1542)  for  Spain  by 
Balboa  —  part  of  Panama. 

Magellan  —  part  of  the  southwest  coast. 

Pizarro  (note,  p.  23)  — from  Panama  to  Peru. 

Cabrillo  (note,  p.  28)  — from  Mexico  up  the  coast  of  California. 

6.  The  Spaniards  early  established  colonies  in  the  West  Indies, 
South  America,  and  Mexico;  but  fifty  years  after  Columbus's  discovery 
there  was  no  settlement  of  Europeans  in  the  mainland  part  of  the  United 
States.  Several  Spanish  expeditions,  however,  had  explored  (1534-1542) 
large  parts  of  the  interior  :  — 

Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  companions  walked  from  Texas  to  western  Mexico, 

Coronado  wandered  from  Mexico  to  Kansas. 

De  Soto  wandered  from  Florida  beyond  the  Mississippi  River. 


/fe 


CHAPTER  III 


FRANCE   AND   ENGLAND   ATTEMPT   TO   SETTLE   AMERICA 


SCALE  OF  MILES 
6       25~~Fo      75      ICO 


The  French  in  South  Carolina.  —  iVfter  the  failure  in 
Canada  twenty  years   passed   away  before   the   French   again 

attempted  to  colonize.  Then 
(1562)  Admiral  Coligny  (co- 
leen'ye),  the  leader  of  the 
Huguenots,  or  Protestants  of 
France,  sougiit  to  plant  a  col- 
ony in  America  for  his  perse- 
cuted countrymen,  and  sent 
forth  an  expedition  under 
Kibaut  (ree-bo').  These 
Frenchmen  reached  the  coast 
of  Florida,  and  turning  north- 
ward came  to  a  haven  which 
they  called  Port  Royal.  Here 
they  built  a  fort  in  what  is 
now  South  Carolina.  Leaving  thirty  men  to  hold  it,  Ribaut 
sailed  for  France.  Famine,  homesickness,  ignorance  of  life  in 
a  wilderness,,  soon  brought  the  colony  to  ruin.  Unable  to  en- 
dure their  hardships  longer,  the  colonists  built  a  crazy  boat,i 
put  to  sea,  and  when  off  the  French  coast  were  rescued  by  an 
English  vessel. 

The  French  in  Florida.  —  Two  years  later  (1564)  Coligny 
tried    again,    and    sent    forth    a    colony    under    Laudonniere 

1  The  forests  supplied  the  trees  for  timbers.  The  seams  were  calked  with 
the  moss  that  hung  in  clusters  from  the  branches,  and  then  smeared  with  pitch 
from  the  pines.  The  Indians  made  them  a  rude  sort  of  rope  for  cordage,  and 
for  sails  they  sewed  together  bedding  and  shirts.  On  the  voyage  home  they  ate 
their  shoes  and  leather  jerkins.     Read  Kirk  Munroe's  Flamingo  Feather, 

32 


The  first  settlements  in  the  South. 


FRANCE  ATTEMPTS  TO  SETTLE  AMERICA 


33 


Fort  Caroline.     From  an  old  print. 


(l6-do-ne-air').     It  reached  the   coast  of  Florida,  and    a   few- 
miles  up  the  St.   Johns  River  built  a  fort  called  Caroline  in 
honor     of     the     French 
King  Charles.   The  next 
year    there    came    more 
colonists  under  Ribaut.^ 

The  Spaniards  found 
St.  Augustine. — Now  it 
so  happened  that  just  at 
this  time  a  Spaniard 
named  Menendez  (ma- 
nen'deth)  had  obtained 
leave  to  conquer  and  set- 
tle Florida.  Before  he 
could  set  off,  news  came 
to  Spain  that  the  French  were  on  the  St.  Johns  River,  and 
Menendez  was  sent  with  troops  to  drive  them  out.  He  landed 
in  Florida  in  1565  and  built  a  fort  which  was  the  beginning  of 
St.  Augustine,  the  first  permanent  settlement  on  the  mainland 
part  of  the  United  States.  Rjbaut  at  once  sailed  to  attack  it. 
But  while  he  was  at  sea  Menendez  marched  overland,  took  Fort, 
Caroline,  and  put  to  death  every  man  there,  save  a  few  who 
made  good  their  escape. ^ 

Spain  holds  America.  —  More  than  seventy  years  had  now 
passed  since  Columbus  made  his  great  voyage  of  discovery. 
Yet,  save  some  Portuguese  settlements  in  Brazil,  the  only  Euro- 
pean colonies  in  America  were  Spanish.     From  St.  Augustine, 

1  These  men  were  adventurers,  not  true  colonists,  and  little  disposed  to  en- 
dure the  toil,  hunger,  and  dreariness  of  a  life  in  the  wildei'ness.  It  was  not  long, 
therefore,  before  the  boldest  of  them  seized  two  little  vessels  and  sailed  away  to 
plunder  Spaniards  in  the  West  Indies.  Famine  drove  them  into  Havana,  where 
to  save  their  necks  they  told  what  was  going  on  in  Florida.  Sixty-six  mutineers 
presently  seized  two  other  vessels  and  turned  buccaneers.  But  the  survivors 
were  forced  to  return  to  Fort  Caroline,  where  the  leaders  were  put  to  death. 

2  Some  of  these  and  many  others,  who  were  shipwrecked  with  Ribaut,  after- 
ward surrendered  and  were  killed.  As  Florida  was  considered  Spanish  ter- 
ritory the  French  had  no  right  to  settle  there,  so  the  French  king  did  nothing 
more  than  protest  to  Spain.  Read  the  story  of  the  French  in  Florida  as  told  by 
Parkman,  in  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  Worlds  pp.  28-162. 

McM.  BRIEF 3 


34  DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATION 

around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  down  South  America  to  the  Strait 
of  Magellan  and  up  the  west  coast  to  California,  save  the 
foothold  of  Portugal,  island  and  mainland  belonged  to  Spain. 
And  all  the  rest  of  North  America  she  claimed. 

English  Attacks  on  Spain  in  the  New  World.  —  So  far  in  the 
sixteenth  century  England  had  taken  little  or  no  part  in  the 
work  of  discovery,  exploration,  and  settlement.  Her  fisher- 
men came  to  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland;  but  not  till  1562, 
in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  did  the  contact  of  England 
with  the  New  World  really  begin.  Then  it  was  that  Sir  John 
y  Hawtins,  one  of  England's  great  "  sea  kings,"  went  to  Africa, 
loaded  his  ships  with  negroes,  sold  them  to  planters  in  Haiti, 
and  came  home  with  hides  and  pearls.  Such  trade  for  one  not 
a  Spaniard  was  against  the  law  of  Spain.  But  Hawkins  cared 
not,  and  came  again  and  again.  When  foul  weather  drove 
yj  him  into  a  Mexican  port,  the  Spaniards  sank  most  of  his  ships, 
but  Hawkins  escaped  with  two  vessels,  in  one  of  which  was 
Francis  Drake. ^ 

Smarting  under  defeat,  Drake  resolved  to  be  avenged.  Fit- 
ting out  a  little  squadron  at  his  own  cost,  without  leave  of  the 
queen,  Drake  (1572)  sailed  to  the  Caribbean  Sea,  plundered 
Spanish  towns  along  the  coast,  captured  Spanish  ships,  and 
went  home  loaded  with  gold,  silver,  and  merchandise. ^ 

Drake  sails  around  the  Globe. — During  this  raid  on  the 
Spanish  coast  Drake  marched  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
and  looked  down  upon  Balboa's  great  South  Sea.  As  he  looked, 
/  he  resolved  to  sail  on  it,  and  in  1577  left  England  with  five 
ships  on  what  proved  to  be  the  greatest  voyage  since  that 
of  Magellan.  He  crossed  the  Atlantic,  sailed  down  the  coast  of 
South  America,  and  entered  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  There 
four  ships  deserted,  but  Drake  went  on  alone  up  the  west  coast, 
plundering  towns  and  capturing  Spanish  vessels.     To  return 

1  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours^  Vol.  I,  pp.  19-20. 

'^  Read  Kingsley's  Westward  Ho !  and  Barnes's  Drake  and  his  Yeomen. 
On  returning  to  England  in  1573,  Drake  reached  Plymoutli  on  a  Sunday, 
during  church  time.  So  great  was  the  excitement  that  the  people  left  the 
church  during  the  sermon,  in  order  to  get  sight  of  him. 


ENGLAND  ATTEMPTS  TO  SETTLE  AMERICA 


35 


the  way  he  came  would  have  been  dangerous,  for  Spanish  cruis- 
ers lay  in  wait.  Drake,  therefore,  went  on  up  the  coast  in 
search  of  a  passage  through  the  continent 
to  the  Atlantic.  Coasting  as  far  as  south- 
ern Oregon  and  finding  no  passage,  Drake 
turned  southward,  entered  a  harbor,  re- 
paired his  ship,  and  then  started  westward 
across  the  Pacific.  He  touched  at  the 
Philippines,  visited  the  Spice  Islands,  came 
home  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  won  the  glory  of  being  the  first  Eng- 
lishman to  sail  around  the  globe. ^ 

The  English  in  the  Far  North.  — While 
Drake  was  on  his  voyage  around  the 
world,  Martin  Frob'isher  discovered  Hud- 
son Strait,2  and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert 
failed  in  an  attempt  to  plant  a  colony 
somewhere  in  America.  The  failure  was 
disheartening.  But  the  return  of  Drake  laden  with  spoil 
aroused  new  interest  in  America,  and  (in  1583)  Gilbert  led 
a  colony  to  Newfoundland.  Disaster  after  disaster  overtook 
him,  and  while  he  was  on  his  way  home  with  two  vessels 
(all  that  were  left  of  five),  one  with  Gilbert  on  board  went 
down  at  sea.^ 

The  English  on  Roanoke  Island.  —  The  work  of  colonization 
then  passed  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  a  half-brother  of  Gilbert. 
He  began  by  sending  out  a  party  of  explorers  who  sailed  along 
the  coast  of  North  Carolina  and  brought  back  such  a  glowing 


Drake's  astrolabe. 

Now  in  Greenwich  Hospital, 
London. 


1  On  his  return  in  1580  Queen  Elizabeth  knighted  Drake  on  his  own  deck. 
A  chair  made  from  the  timbers  of  his  vessel  (the  Golden  Hind)  is  now  at  Oxford. 
Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  I,  pp.  26-28. 

2  In  1576  Frobisher,  when  in  search  of  a  northwest  passage  to  China,  made 
his  way  through  Arctic  ice  to  the  bay  which  now  bears  his  name.  Two  more 
voyages  were  made  to  the  far  north  in  search  of  gold. 

8  The  ships  were  overtaken  off  the  Azores  by  a  furious  gale.  Gilbert's  ves- 
sel was  a  very  little  one,  so  he  was  urged  to  come  aboard  his  larger  consort ; 
but  he  refused  to  desert  his  companions,  and  replied,  "  Do  not  fear  ;  heaven  is  as 
near  by  water  as  by  land." 


36 


DISCOVERY   AND   EXPLORATION 


description  of  the  country  that  the  queen  named  it  Virginia 
and  Raleigh  chose  it  for  the  site  of  a  colony. i 

In  1585,  accordingly,  a  party  of  men  commanded  by  Ralph 
Lane  were  landed  on  Roanoke  Island  (map,  p.  44).  But  the 
site  proved  to  be  ill  chosen,  and  the  Indians  were  hostile.  The 
colonists  were  poorly  fitted  to  live  in  a  wilderness,  and  were 
almost  starving  when  Drake,  who  stopped  at  Roanoke  (1586)  to 
see  how  they  were  getting  on,  carried  them  back  to  England.^ 

The  Lost  Colony.  —  Not  long  after  Drake  sailed  away  with 
the  colonists,  a  party  of  recruits  arrived  with  supplies.  Find- 
ing the  island  deserted,  fifteen  men  remained 
to  hold  the  place  in  the  queen's  name,  and 
the  rest  returned  to  England.  Not  dis- 
heartened by  these  reverses,  Raleigh  sum- 
moned some  men  of  influence  to  his  aid, 
and  (in  1587)  sent  out  a  third  party  of  set- 
tlers, both  men  and  w^omen,  in  charge  of 
John  White.  This  party  was  to  stop  at 
Roanoke  Island,  pick  up  the  fifteen  men 
there,  and  then  go  on  to  Chesapeake  Bay. 
But  for  some  reason  the  settlers  were  left 
on  the  island  by  the  convoy,  and  there  they 
Raleigh's  pipes.  were  forced  to  stay.^ 

1  Queen  Elizabeth  had  declared  she  would  recognize  no  Spanish  claim  to 
American  territory  not  founded  on  discovery  and  settlement.  Raleigh  was  author- 
ized, therefore,  to  hold  by  homage  heathen  lands,  not  actually  possessed  and 
inhabited  by  Christian  people,  which  he  might  discover  within  the  next  six  years. 

2  The  colonists  took  home  some  tobacco,  which  at  that  time  was  greatly 
prized  in  England.  When  Columbus  reached  the  island  of  Cuba  in  1492,  two  of 
his  followers,  sent  on  an  errand  into  the  interior,  met  natives  who  rolled  certain 
dried  leaves  into  tubes,  and,  lighting  one  end  with  a  firebrand,  drew  the  smoke 
into  their  bodies  and  puffed  it  out.  This  was  the  first  time  that  Europeans  had 
seen  cigars  smoked.  The  Spaniards  carried  tobacco  to  Europe,  and  its  use  spread 
rapidly.  There  is  a  story  to  the  effect  that  a  servant  entering  a  room  one  morn- 
ing and  seeing  smoke  issuing  from  Raleigh's  mouth,  thought  he  was  on  fire  and 
dashed  water  in  his  face. 

3  On  Roanoke  Island,  August  18,  1587,  a  girl  was  born  and  named  Virginia. 
She  was  the  granddaughter  of  Governor  White  and  the  daughter  of  Eleanor  and 
Ananias  Dare,  and  the  first  child  of  English  parents  born  on  the  soil  of  what  is 
now  the  United  States. 


ENGLAND  ATTEMPTS  TO  SETTLE  AMERICA 


37 


Indians  in  a  dugout  canoe. 
Part  of  a  drawing  by  John  White. 


White    very  soon    went 

back  to  England  for  help,  in 

the  only  ship  the  colonists 

had.    War  with  Spain  pre- 
vented his  return  for  several 

years,   and     then   only  the 

ruins     of    the     settlement 

were  found  on  the  island. ^ 

Spain  attacks  England.  —  The  war  which  prevented  White 

from  promptly  returning  to  Roanoke  began  in  1585.    The  next 

year,  with  twenty-five  ships,  Drake  y 
attacked  the  possessions  of  Spain  in 
America,  and  burned  and  plundered 
several  towns.  In  1587  he  "singed  the 
beard  of  the  king  of  Spain  "  by  burn- 
ing a  hundred  vessels  in  the  harbor  of 
the  Spanish  city  of  Cadiz. 

Enraged  by  these  defeats.  King 
Philip  II  of  Spain  determined  to  in- 
vade England  and  destroy  that  nest 
of  sea  rovers.  A  great  fleet  known  as 
the  Invincible  Armada,  carrying  thirty 
thousand  men,  was  assembled  and 
in   1588     swept      into     the     English 

English  dress,  sixteenth  century.  Channel.        There     the    English,    led 

Contemporary  portrait  of  Raleigh  and   ,         -i~»i.iot>wi  t^i-i  tt 

his  sor>,  by  zuccaro.  by  Ralcigh,^  Drake,  t  robisher,   Haw- 

1  The  settlers  had  agreed  that  if  they  left  Roanoke  before  White  returned, 
the  name  of  the  place  to  which  they  went  should  be  cut  on  a  tree,  and  a  cross 
added  if  they  were  in  distress.  When  White  returned  the  blockhouse  was  in 
ruins,  and  cut  on  a  tree  was  the  name  of  a  near-by  island.  A  storm  prevented 
the  ship  going  thither,  and  despite  White's  protests  he  was  carried  back  to  Eng- 
land.   What  became  of  the  colony,  no  man  knows. 

2  Raleigh  was  an  important  figure  in  English  history  for  many  years  after 
the  failure  of  his  Roanoke  colony.  When  Queen  Elizabeth  died  (1603),  he 
fell  into  disfavor  with  her  successor.  King  James  I.  He  was  falsely  accused  of 
treason  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  he  remained  during  twelve  years.  There 
he  wrote  his  History  of  the  World.  After  a  short  period  of  liberty,  Raleigh 
was  beheaded.  As  he  stood  on  the  scaffold  he  asked  for  the  ax,  and  said,  "  This 
is  a  sharp  medicine,  but  a  sound  cure  for  all  diseases." 


38  DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATION 

kins,  Lane,  and  all  the  other  great  sea  kings,  met  the  Armada, 
drove  it  into  the  North  Sea,  and  captured,  burned,  and 
sank  many  of  the  ships.  The  rest  fled  around  Scotland,  on 
whose  coast  more  were  wrecked.  Less  than  half  the  Armada 
returned  to  Spain. ^ 

The  English  explore  the  New  England  Coast.  —  The  war 
lasted  sixteen  years  longer  (till  1604).  Though  it  delayed,  it 
did  not  stop,  attempts  at  colonization.  In  1602  Bartholomew 
Gosnold,  with  a  colony  of  thirty-two  men,  sailed  from  England, 
saw  the  coast  of  Maine,  turned  southward,  named  Cape  Cod  and 
the  Elizabeth  Islands,^  and  after  a  short  stay  went  home.  The 
next  year  Martin  Pring  came  with  two  vessels  on  an  explor- 
ing and  trading  voyage ;  and  in  1605  George  Weymouth  was 
sent  out,  visited  the  Kennebec  River  in  Maine,  and  brought 
back  a  good  report  of  the  country.      ^~^~'^" 

The  Virginia  Charter  of  i6o6.  — Peace  had  now  been  made 
with  Spain ;  England  had  not  been  forced  to  stop  her  attempts 
to  colonize  in  America ;  the  favorable  reports  of  Gosnold,  Pring, 
and  Weymouth  led  to  the  belief  that  colonies  could  be  success- 
fully planted  ;  and  in  1606  King  James  I  chartered  two  com- 
mercial companies  to  colonize  Virginia,  as  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
region  was  called. 

To  the  first  or  London  Company  was  granted  the  right  to 
plant  a  colony  anywhere  along  the  coast  between  34°  and  41° 
of  north  latitude  (between  Cape  Fear  River  and  the  Hudson). 
To  the  second  or  Plymouth  Company  was  given  the  right  to 
"t  plant  a  colony  anywhere  between  38°  and  45°  (between  the  Po- 
tomac River  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy").  Each  company  was  to 
have  a  tract  of  land  one  hundred  miles  square  —  fifty  miles 
along  the  coast  each  way  from  the  first  settlement  and  one 
hundred  miles  inland  ;  and  to  prevent  overlapping,  it  was  pro- 

1  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  I,  pp.  33-38. 

2  The  Elizabeth  Islands  are  close  to  the  south  coast  of  Massachusetts.  A 
few  miles  farther  south  Gosnold  found  another  small  island  which  he  named 
Marthas  Vineyard.  Later  explorers  by  mistake  shifted  the  name  Marthas  Vine- 
yard to  a  large  island  near  by,  and  the  little  island  which  Gosnold  found  is  now 
called  No  Mans  Land  (map,  p.  59). 


ENGLAND  ATTEMPTS  TO  SETTLE  AMERICA 


39 


r  ^   V     A      T      L      A     N     T      I      C 


OCEAN 


scAi.e  OF  MILES 
100         200         300 


Virginia. 


vided  that  the  company  last  to  settle  should  not  locate  within 
one  hundred  miles  of  the  other  company's  settlement. 

The  Colony  on  the 
Kennebec.  —  The  char- 
ter  having  been 
granted,  each  company 
set  about  securing  emi- 
grants. To  get  them 
was  not  difficult,  for  in 
England  at  that  day 
there  were  many  people 
whose  condition  was 
so  desperate  that  they 
were  glad  to  seek  a 
new  home  beyond  the 
sea.i  In  a  few  months, 
therefore,  the  Plymouth 
Company  sent  out  its 
first  party  of  colonists;  but  the  ship  was  seized  by  the  Span- 
iards. The  next  year  (1607)  the  company  sent  out  one  hun- 
dred or  more  settlers  in  two  ships.  They  landed  in  August  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  River,  and  built  a  fort,  a  church,  a  i/ 
storehouse,  and  fifteen  log  cabins.  These  men  were  wholly 
unfit  for  life  in  a  wilderness,  and  in  December  about  half  went 
home  in  the  ships  in  which  they  came.  The  others  passed  a 
dismal  winter,  and  when  a  relief  ship  arrived  in  the  spring,  all 
went  back,  and  the  Plymouth  Company's  attempt  to  colonize 
ended  in  failure. 

The  Colony  on  the  James.  —  Meanwhile  another  band  of 
Englishmen  (one  hundred  and  forty-three  in  number)  had  been 
sent  out  by  the  London  Company  to  found  a  colony  in  what 
is  now  Virginia.     They  set  sail  in   December,  1606,  in  three 

1  The  industrial  condition  of  England  was  changing.    The  end  of  the  long  ^ 
war  with  Spain  had  thrown  thousands  of  soldiers  out  of  employment ;    the  turn- 
ing of  plow  land  into  sheep  farms  left  thousands  of  laborers  without  work ; 
manufactures  were  still  in  too  primitive  a  state  to  provide  employment  for  all 
who  needed  it. 


40 


THE   ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 


ships  under  Captain  Newport,  and  in  April,  1607,  reached  the 
entrance  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  Sailing  westward  across  the  bay, 
the  ships  entered  a  river  which  was  named  the  James  in  honor 

of  the  king,  and  on  the 
bank  of  this  river  the- 
party  landed  and  founded 
Jamestown  (map,  p.  44). 
With  this  event  began  the 
permanent  occupation  of 
American  soil  by  English- 
men. At  this  time,  more 
than  a  hundred  years  after 
the  voyages  of  Columbus, 
the  only  other  European 
settlers  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States 
were  the  Spaniards  in 
Florida. 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  Huguenots  tried  to 
found  French  colonies  on  the 
coast  of  South  Carolina  (1562) 
and  of  Florida  (1564)  ;  but  both 
attempts  failed. 

2,  In  1565  all  America,  save 
Brazil,   either  was   in   Spanish 


Ruins  at  Jamestown. 

Church  tower  as  it  looks  to-day. 


hands,  or  was  claimed  by  Spain  and  not  yet  occupied. 

3.  During  the  next  twenty  years  English  sailors  began  to  fight  Span- 
iards, Drake  sailed  around  the  globe,  Frobisher  explored  the  far  north,  and 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  attempted  to  plant  a  colony  in  Newfoundland. 

4.  Gilbert's  half-brother  Raleigh  then  took  up  the  work  of  colonization, 
but  his  attempts  to  plant  a  colony  at  Roanoke  Island  ended  in  failure. 

5.  The  attacks  of  English  buccaneers  on  the  American  colonies  of  Spain 
led  to  a  war  (1585-1604),  in  which  the  most  memorable  event  was  the 
defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada. 

6.  After  the  war  two  companies  were  chartered  to  plant  English  colo- 
nies in  America.  The  Plymouth  Company's  colony  was  a  failure,  but  in 
1607  the  London  Company  founded  Jamestown. 


CHAPTER   IV 


THE   ENGLISH  ON   THE   CHESAPEAKE 


Cap'  SMITH  ieiCaptiue  totke  BASHAW. 
NALBR1T5  in  TARTARJA.^^^^• 


^^xlSmitfi. 


Life  at  Jamestown.  —  The  colonists  who  kiiided  at  James- 
town in  1607  were  all  men.  While  some  of  them  were  building 
a  fort,  Captain  Newport, 
with  Captain  John  Smith 
and  others,  explored  the 
James  River  and  visited 
the  Powhatan,  chief  of  a 
neighboring  tribe  of  Ind- 
ians. This  done,  New- 
port returned  to  England 
(June,  1607)  with  his 
three  ships,  leaving  one 
hundred  and  five  colo- 
nists to  begin  a  struggle 
for  life.  Bad  water,  fever, 
hard  labor,  the  intense 
heat  of  an  American  summer,  and  the  scarcity  of  food  caused 
such  sickness  that  by  September  more  than  half  the  colonists 
were  dead.^  Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  Smith,  who  got  corn 
from  the  Indians  and  directed  affairs  in  general,  the  fate  of 
Jamestown  might  have  been  that  of  Roanoke. ^     As  it  was,  but 

1  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  I,  pp.  06-98. 

'^  Captain  John  Smith  was  born  in  England  in  1580.  At  an  early  age  he  was 
a  soldier  in  France  and  in  the  Netherlands  ;  then  after  a  short  stay  in  England 
he  set  off  to  fight  the  Turks.  In  France  he  was  robbed  and  left  for  dead,  but 
reached  Marseilles  and  joined  a  party  of  pilgrims  bound  to  the  Levant.  During 
a  violent  storm  the  pilgrims,  believing  he  had  caused  it,  threw  him  into  the  sea. 
But  he  swam  to  an  island,  and  after  many  adventures  was  made  a  captain  in 
the  Venetian  army.  The  Turks  captured  him  and  sold  him  into  slavery,  but  he 
killed  his  master,  escaped  to  a  Russian  fortress,  made  his  way  through  Germany, 

41 


Smith  in  slavery. 

Picture  in  one  of  his  books. 


42 


THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 


forty  were  alive  when  Newport  returned  in  January,  1608,  with 
the  "  first  supply  "  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men. 

The  Company's  Orders.  —  Newport  was  ordered  to  bring 
back  a  cargo.  So  while  some  of  the  colonists  cut  down  cedar 
and  black  walnut  trees  and  made  clapboards,  others  loaded  the 

ship  with  glittering  sand  which  they 
thought  was  gold  dust.  These  la- 
bors drew  the  men  away  from  agri- 
culture, and  only  four  acres  were 
planted  with  corn. 

In  September  Newport  was  back 
again  with  the  "second  supply"  of 
seventy  persons;  two  of  them  were 
women.  This  time  he  was  ordered  to 
crown  the  Powhatan,  and  to  find  a  gold 
mine,  discover  a  passage  to  the  South 
Sea,  or  find  Raleigh's  lost  colony. 
Smith  laughed  at  these  orders.  But 
they  had  to  be  obeyed  ;  so  several 
parties  went  southward  in  search  of 
the  lost  colony,  but  found  it  not;  Newport  went  w^estward 
beyond  the  falls  of  the  James  in  search  of  the  passage;  and 
the  Powhatan  was  duly  crowned  and  dressed  in  a  crimson  robe.^ 

France,  Spain,  and  Morocco,  and  reached  England  in  time  to  go  out  with 
the  London  Company's  colony.  His  career  in  Virginia  was  as  adventurous 
as  in  the  Old  World.  While  exploring  the  Chickahominy  liiver  he  and 
his  companions  were  taken  by  the  Indians.  Lest  they  should  kill  him  at 
once  Smith  showed  them  a  pocket  compass  with  its  quivering  needle  always 
pointing  north.  They  could  see,  but  could  not  touch  it  because  of  the  glass. 
Supposing  him  a  wizard,  they  took  him  to  the  Powhatan.  According  to 
Smith's  account  two  stones  were  brought  and  Smith's  head  laid  upon  them, 
while  warriors,  club  in  hand,  stood  near  by  to  beat  out  his  brains.  But 
suddenly  the  chief's  little  daughter,  Pocahontas,  rushed  in  and  laid  her  head  on 
Smith's  to  shield  him.  He  was  given  his  life  and  sent  back  to  Jamestown. 
1  Smith  and  Newport  visited  the  old  chief  at  his  village  of  Werowocomoco, 
took  off  the  Powhatan's  raccoon-skin  coat,  and  put  on  the  crimson  robe.  When 
they  told  him  to  kneel,  he  refused.  Two  men  thereupon  seized  him  by  the 
shoulders  and  forced  him  to  bend  his  knees,  and  the  crown  was  clapped  on 
his  head.  The  Powhatan  then  took  off  his  old  moccasins  and  sent  them,  with 
his  raccoon-skin  coat,  to  his  royal  brother  in  London. 


Powhatan's  coat. 

Now  in  a  museum  at  Oxford. 


THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE  CHESAPEAKE  43 

No  gold  mine  could  be  found,  so  Newport  sailed  for  England 
with  a  cargo  of  pitch,  tar,  and  clapboards. 

Smith  rules  the  Colony.  —  By  this  time  Smith  had  become 
president  of  the  council  for  the  government  of  the  colony.  He 
decreed  that  those  who  did  not  work  should  not  eat;  and  by 
spring  his  men  had  dug  a  well,  shingled  the  church,  put  up 
twenty  cabins,  and  cleared  and  planted  forty  acres  of  corn.  Yet, 
despite  all  he  could  do,  the  colony  was  on  the  verge  of  ruin 
when  in  August,  1609,  seven  ships  landed  some  three  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  known  as  the  "  third  supply."  ^ 

Jamestown  Abandoned.  —  And  now  matters  went  from  bad 
to  worse.  The  leaders  quarreled;  Smith  was  injured  and  had 
to  go  back  to  England;  the  Indians  became  hostile;  food  be- 
came scarce;  and  when  at  last  neither  corn  nor  roots  could  be 
had,  the  colonists  began  to  suffer  the  horrors  of  famine.  Dur- 
ing that  awful  winter,  long  known  as  "the  starving  time," 
cold,  famine,  and  the  Indians  swept  away  more  than  four 
hundred.  When  Newport  arrived  in  May,  1610,  only  sixty 
famishing  creatures  inhabited  Jamestown.  To  continue  the 
colony  seemed  hopeless ;  and  going  on  board  the  ships  (June, 
1610),  the  colonists  set  sail  for  England  and  had  gone  %ell 
down  the  James  when  they  met  Lord  Delaware  with  three 
well-provisioned,  ships  coming  up.^ 

Jamestown  Resettled.  —  Lord  Delaware  had  come  out  as 
governor  under  a  new  charter  granted  to  the  L(5ndon  Company 
in  1609.  This  is  of  interest  because  it  gave  to  the  colony  an 
immense  domain  of  which  we  shall  hear  more  after  Virginia 
became  a  state.  This  domain  extended  from  Point  Comfort, 
two  hundred  miles  up  and  two  hundred  miles  down  the  coast, 
and  then  "  up  into  the  land  throughout  from  sea  to  sea,  west 
and  northwest." 

1  They  were  part  of  a  body  of  some  five  hundred  in  nine  ships  which  left 
England  in  June.  On  the  way  over  a  storm  scattered  the  fleet ;  one  ship  was 
lost,  and  another  bearing  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  was  wrecked  on  the 
Bermudas.  The  shipwrecked  colonists  spent  ten  months  building  two  little 
vessels,  in  which  they  reached  Jamestown  in  May,  1610. 

2  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours^  Vol.  I,  pp.  152-155. 


44 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


After  the  meeting  between  the  departing  settlers  and  the 
newcomers  under  Delaware,  the  whole  band  returned  to  James- 
town and  began  once  more  the  struggle  for  existence. 

Prosperity  begins. —  Delaware,  who  soon  went  back  to  Eng- 
land, left  Sir  Thomas  Dale  in  command,  and   under  him  the 

colony    began     to     prosper. 


Hitherto  the  colonists  had 
lived  as  communists.  The 
company  owned  all  the  land, 
and  whatever  food  was  raised 
was  put  into  the  public  gran- 
ary to  be  divided  among  the 
settlers,  share  and  share  alike. 
Dale  changed  this  system, 
and  the  old  planters  were 
given  land  to  cultivate  for 
themselves.  The  effect  was 
magical.  Men  who  were  lazy 
when  toiling  as  servants  of 
the  company,  become  indus- 
trious when  laboring  for 
themselves,  and  prosperity 
began  in  eai;nest. 

More  settlers  soon  arrived 
with  a  number  of  cows,  goats, 
and  oxen,  and  the  little  col- 
ony began  to  expand.    When 


flvV^^tf*  C.Hatteras 

SCALE  OF  MtLES 


Virginia  (from  1609  to  1624). 

Dale's  term  as  acting  governor  ended  in  1616,  Virginia  con- 
tained six  little  settlements  besides  Jamestown.  The  next 
governor,  Yeardley,  introduced  the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  which 
was  now  much  used  in  Europe  and  commanded  a  high  price. 

The  First  Representative  Assembly.  —  Yeardley  was  suc- 
ceeded (1617)  by  Argall,  who  for  two  years  ruled  Virginia  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  So  harsh  was  his  rule  that  the  company  was  forced  to 
recall  him  and  send  back  Yeardley.  Yeardley  came  with  instruc- 
tions to  summon  a  general  assembly,  and  in  July,  1619,  the  first 


THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE  CHESAPEAKE  45 

legislative  body  in  America  met  in  the  little  clmrcli  at  James- 
town ;  eleven  boroughs  were  represented.  Each  sent  two  bur- 
gesses, as  they  were  called,  and  these  twenty-two  men  made 
the  first  House  of  Burgesses,  and  had  power  to  enact  laws 
for  the  colony.  1 

Slavery  Introduced.  —  Another  event  which  makes  1619  a 
memorable  year  in  our  history  was  the  arrival  at  Jamestown  of 
a  Dutch  ship  with  a  cargo  of  African  negroes  for  sale.  Twenty 
were  bought,  and  the  institution  of  negro  slavery  was  planted 
in  Virginia.  This  seemed  quite  proper,  for  there  were  then  in 
the  colony  many  white  slaves,  or  bond  servants  —  men  bound 
to  service  for  a  term  of  years.  The  difference  between  one  of 
these  and  an  African  negro  slave  was  that  the  white  man  served 
for  a  short  time,  and  the  negro  during  his  life.^ 

A  Cargo  of  Maids.  — Yet  another  event  which  makes  1619  a  ^ 
notable  year  in  Virginian  history  was  the  arrival  of  a  ship  with 
ninety  young  women  sent  out  by  the  company  to  become  wives 
of  the  settlers.  The  early  comers  to  Virginia  had  been  "  ad- 
venturers," that  is,  men  seeking  to  better  their  fortunes,  not  in- 
tending to  live  and  die  in  Virginia,  but  hoping  to  return  to 
England  in  a  few  years  rich,  or  at  least  prosperous.  That  the 
colony  with  such  a  shifting  population  could  not  prosper  was 
certain.  Virginia  needed  homes.  The  mass  of  the  settlers  were 
unmarried,  and  the  company  very  wisely  determined  to  supply 

1  The  governor,  the  council,  and  the  House  of  Burgesses  constituted  the 
General  Assembly.  Any  act  of  the  Assembly  might  be  vetoed  by  the  governor, 
and  no  law  was  valid  till  approved  by  the  "general  court  "  of  the  company  at 
London.  Neither  was  any  law  made  by  the  company  for  the  colony  valid 
till  approved  by  the  Assembly.  After  1660  the  House  of  Burgesses  consisted  of 
two  delegates  from  each  county,  with  one  from  Jamestown. 

2  For  some  years  to  come  the  slaves  increased  in  numbers  very  slowly.  So 
late  as  1671,  when  the  population  of  Virginia  was  40,000,  there  were  but  2000 
slaves,  while  the  bond  servants  numbered  6000.  Some  of  these  indentured 
servants,  as  they  were  called,  were  persons  guilty  of  crime  in  England,  who  were 
sent  over  to  Virginia  and  sold  for  a  term  of  years  as  a  punishment.  Others  — 
the  "  redemptioners  "  —  were  men  who,in  order  to  pay  for  their  passage  to  Vir- 
ginia, agreed  to  serve  the  owner  or  the  captain  of  the  ship  for  a  certain  time. 
On  reaching  Virginia  the  captain  could  sell  them  to  the  planters  for  the  time 
specified ;  at  the  end  of  the  time  they  became  freemen. 


46 


THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 


The  maids  arrive  in  Virginia. 

them  with  wives.  The  ninety  young  women  sent  over  in  1619, 
and  others  sent  later,  were  free  to  choose  their  own  husbands  : 
but  each  man,  on  marrying  one  of  them,  had  to  pay  one  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds  of  tobacco  for  her  passage  to  Virginia. 

The  Charter  Taken  away.  —  For  Virginia  the  future  now 
looked  bright.  Her  tobacco  found  ready  sale  in  England  at  a 
large  profit.  The  right  to  make  her  own  laws  gave  promise  of 
good  government.  The  founding  of  home  ties  could  not  fail 
^  to  produce  increased  energy  on  the  part  of  the  settlers.  But 
trouble  was  brewing  for  the  London  Company.  The  king  was 
quarreling  with  a  part  of  his  people,  and  the  company  was  in 
the  hands  of  his  opponents.  Looking  upon  it  as  a  "  seminary 
of  sedition,"  King  James  secured  (1624)  the  destruction  of  the 
charter,  and  Virginia  became  a  royal  province.^ 


1  That  is,  the  unoccupied  land  became  royal  domain  again,  and  the  king 
appointed  the  governors  and  controlled  the  colony  through  a  committee  of  his 
privy  council.     One  unhappy  result  of  the  downfall  of  the  London  Company 


THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE   CHESAPEAKE  47 

State  of  the  Colony  in  1624.  —  The  colony  of  Virginia  when 
deprived  of  its  charter  was  a  little  community  of  some  four 
thousand  souls,  scattered  in  plantations  on  and  near  the  James 
River.  Let  us  go  back  to  those  times  and  visit  one  of  the 
plantations.  The  home  of  the  planter  is  a  wooden  house  with 
rough-hewn  beams  and  unplaned  boards,  surrounded  by  a  high 
stockade.  Near  by  are  the  farm  buildings  and  the  cabins  of  his 
bond  servants.  His  books,  his  furniture,  his  clothing  and  that 
of  his  family,  have  all  come  from  England.  So  also  have  the 
farming  implements  and  very  likely  the  greater  part  of  his 
cows  and  pigs.  On  his  land  are  fields  of  wheat  and  barley  and 
Indian  corn  ;  but  the  chief  crop  is  tobacco. ^ 

Effects  of  Tobacco  Planting.  —  As  time  passed  and  the  Vir- 
ginians found  that  the  tobacco  always  brought  a  good  price  in 
England,  they  made  it  more  and  more  the  chief  crop.  This 
powerfully  affected  the  whole  character  of  the  colony.  It 
drew  to  Virginia  a  better  class  of  settlers,  who  came  over  to 
grow  rich  as  planters.  It  led  the  people  to  live  almost  ex- 
clusively on  plantations,  and  prevented  the  growth  of  large 
towns.  Tobacco  became  the  currency  of  the  colony,  and  sala- 
ries, wages,  and  debts  were  paid,  and  taxes  levied,  and  wealth 
and  income  estimated,  in  pounds  of  tobacco. 

Few  Roads  in  Virginia.  —  As  there  were  few  towns,^  so  there 
were  few  roads.     The  great  plantations  lay  along  the  river 

was  the  defeat  of  a  plan  for  establishing  schools  in  Virginia.  As  early  as  1621 
some  funds  were  raised  for  "  a  public  free  school,"  in  Charles  City.  A  tract  of 
land  was  also  set  apart  in  the  city  of  Henricus  for  a  college,  and  a  rector,  or 
president,  was  sent  out  to  start  it.  But  he  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  1622, 
and  before  the  company  had  found  a  successor  the  charter  was  destroyed. 
Virginia's  first  college  —  William  and  Mary  —  was  established  at  Williamsburg 
in  1693. 

1  Read  the  description  of  early  Virginia  in  J.  E.  Cooke's  Virginia  (American 
Commonwealths  Series),  pp.  141-157;  or  Stories  of  the  Old  Dominion;  or 
Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol,  I,  pp.  223-232. 

2  Jamestown  was  long  the  chief  town  of  Virginia  ;  but  in  its  best  days  the 
houses  did  not  number  more  than  75  or  80,  and  the  population  was  not  more 
than  250.  In  1676  the  church,  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  the  dwellings 
were  burned  during  Bacon's  Rebellion  (p.  95).  In  1679  the  Burgesses  ordered 
Jamestown  "to  be  rebuilt  and  to  be  the  metropolis  of  Virginia"  ;  but  in  1698 
the  House  of  Burgesses  was  again  burned,  and  in  1699  Williamsburg  became  the 


48 


THE   ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 


banks.     It  was  easy,  therefore,  for  a  planter  to  go  on  visits  of 
business  or  pleasure  in  a  sailboat  or  in  a  barge  rowed  by  his 

servants.  The  fine 
rivers  and  the  loca- 
tion of  the  plantations 
along  their  banks  en- 
abled each  planter  to 
have  his  own  wharf, 
to  which  came  ships 
from  England  laden 
with  tables,  chairs, 
cutlery,  tools,  rich 
silks, and  cloth,  every- 
thing the  planter 
needed  for  his  house, 
his  family,  his  ser- 
vants, and  his  plan- 
tation, all  to  be  paid 
for  with  casks  of  to- 
bacco. 

Governor  Berkeley. 
—  Despite  the  change 
from  rule  by  the 
company  to  rule  by  the  king,  Virginia  grew  and  prospered. 
When  Sir  William  Berkeley  came  over  as  governor  (in  1642), 
her  English  population  was  nearly  fifteen  thousand  and  her  slaves 
three  hundred,  and  many  of  her  planters  were  men  of  much 
wealth.  Berkeley's  first  term  as  governor  (1642-1652)  covered 
the  period  of  the  Civil  War  in  England. 

Civil  War  in  England.  —  When  King  James  died  (in  1625)  / 
he  w^s  succeeded  by  Charles  I,  under  whom  the  old  quarrel 
between  the  king  and  the  people,  which  had  caused  the  down- 
seat  of  government.  The  ruined  church  tower  (p.  40)  is  the  only  structure 
still  standing  in  Jamestown  ;  but  remains  of  the  ancient  graveyard,  of  a  mansion 
built  on  the  foundations  of  the  old  House  of  Burgesses,  and  some  foundations  of 
dwellings  may  also  be  seen.  The  site  is  cared  for  by  the  Association  for  the 
Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities. 


Copyright,  1901,  Inj  R.  A.  Lancaster,  Jr. 

Foundations  at  Jamestown. 


THE   ENGLISH    ON  THE  CHESAPEAKE  49 

fall  of  the  London  Company,  was  pushed  into  civil  war.  In 
1642  Charles  I  took  the  field,  raised  the  royal  standard,  and 
called  all  loyal  subjects  to  its  defense.  The  Parliament  of 
England  likewise  raised  an  army,  and  after  varying  fortunes 
the  king  was  defeated,  captured,  tried  for  high  treason,  found 
guilty,  and  beheaded  (1649).  England  then  became  a  republic, 
called  the  Commonwealth. 

The  Cavaliers.  —  While  the  Civil  War  was  raging  in  Eng- 
land, Virginia  (largely  because  of  the  influence  of  Governor 
Berkeley)  remained  loyal  to  the  king.  As  the  war  went  on 
and  the  defeats  of  the  royal  army  were  followed  by  the  capture 
of  the  king,  numbers  of  his  friends,  the  Cavaliers,  fled  to 
Virginia.  After  Charles  I  was  beheaded,  more  than  three 
hundred  of  the  nobility,  gentry,  and  clergy  of  England  came 
over  in  one  year.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  General  As- 
sembly recognized  the  dead  king's  son  as  King  Charles  II,  and/^ 
made  it  treason  to  doubt  his  right  to  the  throne.  Because  of 
this  support  of  the  royal  cause,  Parliament  punished  Virginia 
by  cutting  off  her  trade,  and  ordered  that  steps  be  taken  to 
reduce  her  to  submission.  A  fleet  was  accordingly  dispatched, 
reached  Virginia  early  in  1652,  and  forced  Berkeley  to  hand 
over  the  government  to  three  Parliamentary  commissioners. 
One  of  them  was  then  elected  governor,  and  Virginia  had  al- 
most complete  self-government  till  1660,  when  England  again 
became  a  kingdom,  under  Charles  II. 
/  Maryland,  the  First  Proprietary  Colony.  —  When  Virginia 
became  crown  property  (1624),  the  king  could  do  with  it  what 
he  pleased.  King  Charles  I  accordingly  cut  off  a  piece  and 
gave  it  to  George  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore. ^     This  Lord  Balti- 


1  George  Calvert  was  the  son  of  a  Yorkshire  farmer,  was  educated  at 
Oxford,  and  went  to  Parliament  in  1604.  Becoming  a  favorite  of  King  James  I, 
he  was  knighted  in  1617,  and  two  years  later  was  made  principal  Secretary  of 
State.  He  became  a  Roman  Catholic,  although  Catholics  were  then  bitterly 
persecuted  in  England.  Just  before  the  king  died,  he  resigned  office,  and 
received  the  title  of  Lord  Baltimore,  the  name  referring  to  a  town  in  Ireland. 
Finding  all  public  offices  closed  to  him  because  he  was  a  Catholic,  Baltimore 
resolved  to  seek  a  home  in  America. 

McM.  BRIEF 4 


50 


THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 


SCALE   OF   MILES 
20         40         60 


%i;^olk    V 


Maryland  by  the  original  patent. 


more  was  a  Catholic  who  had  tried  in  vain  to  found  a  settle- 
ment in  Newfoundland.      He  died  before  the  patent,  or  deed, 

was  drawn  for  the  land 
cut  off  from  Virginia,  so 
(1632)  it  was  issued  to 
his  son  Cecilius,  the  sec- 
ond Lord  Baltimore.  The 
province  lay  north  of  the 
Potomac  River  and  was 
called  Maryland. 

By  the  terms  of  the 
grant  Lord  Baltimore  was 
to  pay  the  king  each  year 
two  arrowheads  in  token 
of  homage,  and  as  rent 
was  to  give  the  king  one 
fifth  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  mined.  This  done,  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  Maryland.  He  might  coin  money,  grant  titles,  make 
war  and  peace,  establish  courts,  appoint  judges,  and  pardon 
criminals.  But  he  was  not  allowed  to  tax  the  people  without 
their  consent.  He  had  to  summon  a  legislature  to  assist  him 
in  making  laws,  but  the  laws  when  made  did  not  need  to  be 
sent  to  the  king  for  approval. 

The  First  Settlers.  —  The  first  settlement  was  made  by  a 
company  of  about  twenty  gentlemen  and  three  hundred  arti- 
sans and  laborers.  They  were  led  and  accompanied  by  two  of 
Lord  Baltimore's  brothers,  and  by  two  Catholic  priests.  They 
came  over  in  1634  in  two  ships,  the  Arh  and  the  JDove^  and  not 
far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac  founded  St.  Marys.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1635,  they  held  their  first  Assembly.  To  it  came  all 
freemen,  both  landholders  and  artisans,  and  by  them  a  body  of 
laws  was  framed  and  sent  to  the  proprietor  (Lord  Baltimore) 
for  approval. 

Self-government  begun.  —  This  was  refused,  and  in  its  place 

/  the  proprietor  sent  over  a  code  of  laws,  which  the  Assembly  in 

its  turn  rejected.      The  Assembly  then  went  on  and  framed 


THE  ENGLISH   ON  THE  CHESAPEAKE  51 

another  set  of  laws.  Baltimore  with  rare  good  sense  now 
yielded  the  point,  and  gave  his  brother  authority  to  assent  to 
the  laws  made  by  the  people,  but  reserved  the  right  to  veto. 
Thus  was  free  self-government  established  in  Maryland.  ^ 

Trouble  with  Claiborne.  —  Before  Lord  Baltimore  obtained 
his  grant,  William  Claiborne,  of  Virginia,  had  established  an 
Indian  trading  post  on  Kent  Island  in  Chesapeake  Bay.  This  v 
fell  within  the  limits  given  to  Maryland ;  but  Claiborne  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Baltimore,  whereupon  a  vessel 
belonging  to  the  Kent  Island  station  was  seized  by  the  Mary- 
landers  for  trading  without  a  license.  Claiborne  then  sent  an 
armed  boat  with  thirty  men  to  capture  any  vessel  belonging  to 
St.  Marys.  This  boat  was  itself  captured,  instead ;  but  another 
fight  soon  occurred,  in  which  Claiborne's  forces  beat  the  Mary- 
landers.     The  struggle  thus  begun  lasted  for  years.  ^ 

The  Toleration  Act. — The  year  1^49_is  memorable  for  the 
passage  of  the  Maryland  Toleration  Act,  the  first  of  its  kind  in 
our  history.     This  provided  that  "  no  person  or  persons  what- , 
soever  within   this   province,  professing   to   believe   in  Jesus  \   / 
Christ,  shall  from  henceforth  be  any  ways  troubled,  molested,  / 
or  discountenanced  for,  or  in  respect  to,  his  or  her  religion." 

End  of  the  Claiborne  Trouble.  —  The  nine  years  that  fol- 
lowed formed  a  stormy  period  for  Maryland.  One  of  the  par- 
liamentary commissioners  to  reduce  Virginia  to  obedience 
(1652,  p.  49)  was  our  old  friend  Claiborne.  He  and  the  new 
governor  of  Virginia  forced  Baltimore's  governor   to  resign, 

1  Baltimore  ordered  that  any  colonist  who  came  in  the  Ark  or  Dove  and 
brought  five  men  with  him  should  have  2000  acres  of  land,  subject  to  an  annual 
rent  of  400  pounds  of  wheat.  A  settler  who  came  in  1635  could  have  the  same 
amount  of  land  if  he  brought  ten  men,  but  had  to  pay  600  pounds  of  wheat  a 
year  as  rent.  Plantations  of  1000  acres  or  more  were  manors,  and  the  lord  of 
the  manor  could  hold  courts. 

2  Claiborne's  London  partners  took  possession  of  Kent  Island,  and  acknowl- 
edged the  authority  of  Baltimore  ;  but  after  the  Civil  War  broke  out  in  England, 
Claiborne  joined  forces  with  a  half  pirate  named  Ingle,  and  recovered  the 
island.  For  two  years  Ingle  and  his  crew  lorded  it  over  all  Maryland,  stealing 
corn,  tobacco,  cattle,  and  household  goods.  Not  till  1646,  when  Calvert  received 
aid  from  Virginia,  was  he  able  to  drive  out  Claiborne  and  Ingle,  and  recover 
the  province. 


52 


THE   ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 


and  set  up  a  Protestant  government  which  repealed  the  Tol- 
eration Act  and  disfranchised  Roman  Catholics.  Baltimore 
bade  his  deposed  governor  resume  office.  A  battle  followed, 
the  Protestant  forces  won,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  destroy 
1/  the  rights  of  Baltimore;  but  the  English  government  sustained 
him,  the  Virginians  were  forced  to  submit,  and  the  quarrel  of 
more  than  twenty  years'  standing  came  to  an  end.  Thenceforth 
Virginia  troubled  Maryland  no  more. 

Growth  of  Maryland.  —  The  population  of  the  colony,  mean- 
time, grew  rapidly.  Pamphlets  describing  the  colony  and 
telling  how  to  emigrate  and  acquire  land  were  circulated  in 
England.  Many  of  the  first  comers  wrote  home  and  brought 
out  more  men,  and  were  thus  enabled  to  take  up  more  land. 
Emigrants  who  came  with  ten  or  twenty  settlers  were  given 
manors  or  plantations.     Such  as  came  alone  received  farms. 

Most  of  the  work  on  plan- 
tations was  done  by  indented 
white  servants,  both  convicts 
and  redemptioners.i  Negro 
slavery  existed  in  Maryland 
from  the  beginning,  but  slaves 
were  not  numerous  till  after 
1700. 

Food  was  abundant,  for  the 
rivers  and  bay  abounded  with 
geese  and  ducks,  oysters  and 
crabs,  and  the  woods  were  full  of  deer,  turkeys,  and  wild 
pigeons.  Wheat  was  not  plentiful,  but  corn  was  abundant, 
and  from  it  were  made  pone,  hominy,  and  hoe-cakes. 

No  Towns.  —  As  everybody  could  get  land  and  therefore 
lived  on  manors,  plantations,  or  farms,  there  were  practically 
no  towns  in  Maryland.     Even  St.  Marys,  so  late  as  1678,  was 

1  The  redemptioners,  when  their  time  was  out  and  they  became  freemen, 
received  a  set  of  tools,  clothes,  and  a  year's  provisions  from  their  former  mas- 
ters, and  fifty  acres  from  the  proprietor  of  the  colony, 

2  On  such  looms  skilled  servants  wove  much  of  the  cloth  used  on  the  planta- 
tion.    Similar  looms  were  used  in  all  the  colonies. 


Hand  loom 


THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE  CHESAPEAKE  53 

not  really  a  town,  but  a  string  of  some  thirty  houses  straggling 
for  five  miles  along  the  shore.  The  bay  with  its  innumerable 
creeks,  inlets,  coves,  and  river  mouths,  afforded  fine  water  com- 
munication between  the  farms  and  plantations;  and  there  were 
no  roads.  As  in  Virginia,  there  was  no  need  of  shipping  ports. 
Vessels  came  direct  to  manor  or  plantation  wharf,  and  ex- 
changed English  goods  for  tobacco  or  corn.  Such  farmers  or 
planters  as  had  no  water  communication  packed  their  tobacco 
in  a  hogshead,  with  an  axle  through  it,  and  with  an  ox  or  a  horse 
in  a  pair  of  shafts,  or  with  a  party  of  negro  slaves  or  white  ser- 
vants, rolled  it  to  market. 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  struggle  of  the  Jamestown  colony  for  life  was  a  desperate  one. 
For  two  years  it  was  preserved  by  Captain  John  Smith's  skillful  leadership, 
and  the  frequent  reenforcements  and  supplies  sent  over  by  the  London  Com- 
pany; but  in  1610  the  settlers  started  to  leave  the  country. 

2.  The  arrival  of  Lord  Delaware  saved  the  colony.  He  brought  out 
news  of  a  new  charter  (1609)  which  greatly  extended  the  domain  of  the 
company. 

3.  The  settlers  were  now  given  land  of  their  own,  tobacco  was  grown, 
more  settlements  were  planted,  and  prosperity  began. 

4.  In  1619  slavery  was  introduced;   a  shipload  of  young  women  ar- ^/ 
rived;  and  a  representative  government  was  established. 

5.  In  1624  Virginia  became  a  royal  colony. 

6.  During  the  Civil  War  in  England  many  Cavaliers  came  to  Virginia. 

7.  King  Charles  I  cut  off  a  part  of  Virginia  to  make  (1632)  the  pro- 
prietary colony  of  Maryland.  The  new  province  was  given  to  Lord  Balti- 
more, who  founded  (1634)  a  colony  at  St.  Marys. 

8.  Claiborne,  a  Virginian,  denied  the  authority  of  Baltimore,  and  kept 
up  a  struggle  against  him  for  many  years. 

9.  In  both  Maryland  and  Virginia  the  people  lived  on  large  planta- 
tions, and  there  were  few  towns.  Travel  was  mostly  by  water,  and  there 
were  no  good  roads. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   ENGLISH   IN  NEW   ENGLAND 

New  England   Named.  —  While  the  London    Company  was 

planting  its  colony  on  the  James  River,  the  Plymouth  Company 

V  sought  to  retrieve  its  failure  on  the  Kennebec  (p.  39).     In  1614 


Smith's  map  of  the  New  England  coast. 

Captain  John  Smith,  who  had  returned  to  England  from  James- 
town, was  sent  over  with  two  ships  to  explore.  He  made  a 
map  of   the  coast  from   Maine  to  Cape   Cod,^  and   called  the 

1  On  his  map  Smith  gave  to  Cape  Ann,  Cape  Elizabeth,  Charles  River,  and 
Plymouth  the  names  they  still  retain.    Cape  Cod  he  called  Cape  James. 

64 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 


55 


country  New  England.  The  next  year  Smith  led  out  a  colony  ; 
but  a  French  fleet  took  him  prisoner,  no  settlement  was  made, 
and  five  years  passed  before  the  first  permanent  English  colony 
was  planted  in  the  Plymouth  Company's  grant  —  by  the 
Separatists. 

The  Separatists.  —  To  understand  who  these  people  were, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  the  Established 
Church  of  England,  and  that  severe  laws  were  passed  to  force 
all  the  people  to  attend  its  services.  But  a  sect  arose  which 
wished  to  "  purify  "  the  church  by  abolishing  certain  forms  and 
ceremonies.  These  people  were  called  Puritans,^  and  were 
divided  into  two  sects  : 

1.  Those  Puritans  who  wished  to  purify  the  Church  of 
England  while  they  remained  members  of  it. 

2.  The  Independents,  or  Separatists,  who  wished  to  sepa- 
rate from  that  church  and  worship  God  in 
their  own  way. 

The  Separatists  were  cruelly  persecuted 
during  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  after- 
ward. One  band  of  them  fled  to  Holland  (in 
1608),  where  they  found  peace;  but  time 
passed  and  it  became  necessary  for  them  to 
decide  whether  they  should  stay  in  Holland 
and  become  Dutch,  or  find  a  home  in  some 
land  where  they  might  continue  to  remain 
Englishmen.  They  decided  to  leave  Hol- 
land, formed  a  company,  and  finally  obtained 
leave  from  the  London  Company  to  settle 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  River. 

Voyage  of  the  Mayflower.  —  Led  by  Brewster,  Bradford, 
and  Standish,  a  party  of  Pilgrims  sailed  from  Holland  in  July, 


Brewster's  chair. 

Now  in  Pilgrim  Hall, 
Plymouth. 


1  The  Puritans  were  important  in  history  for  many  years.  Most  of  the 
English  people  who  quarreled  and  fought  with  King  James  and  King  Charles 
were  Puritans.  In  Maryland  it  was  a  Puritan  army  that  for  a  time  overthrew 
Lord  Baltimore's  government  (p.  52). 


56  THE   ExNGLISH   IN   AMERICA 

1620,  in  the  ship  Speedwell ;  were  joined  in  England  by  a  party 
from  London  in  the  Mayflower ;  and  in  August  both  vessels 
put  to  sea.  But  the  Speedwell  proved  unseaworthy,  and  all 
put  back  to  Plymouth  in  England,  where  some  gave  up  the 
voyage.  One  hundred  and  two  held  fast  to  their  purpose,  and 
in  September  set  sail  in  the  Mayflower.  The  voyage  was  long 
and  stormy,  and  November  came  before  they  sighted  a  sandy 
coast  far  to  the  northeastward  of  the  Delaware.  For  a  while 
they  strove  hard  to  go  southward  ;  but  adverse  winds  drove 
them  back,  and  they  dropped  anchor  in  Cape  Cod  Bay.^ 

The  Landing.  —  The  land  here  was  within  the  territory  of 
the  Plymouth  Company.  The  Pilgrims,  however,  decided  to 
stay  and  get  leave  to  settle,  but  this  decision  displeased  some 
of  them.  A  meeting,  therefore,  was  held  in  the  ship's  cabin 
(November  21,  1620),  and  the  "  Mayflower  compact,"  binding 
all  who  signed  it  to  obey  such  government  as  might  be  estab- 
lished, was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  forty-one  of  the  sixty-five 
men  on  the  vessel. 

This  done,  the  work  of  choosing  a  site  for  their  homes  began, 
and  for  several  weeks  little  parties  explored  the  coast  before 
one  of  them  entered  a  harbor  and  selected  a  spot  which  John 
Smith  had  named  Plymouth. ^     To  this  harbor  the  Mayflower 

1  Read  Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  England,  pp.  79-82. 

2  The  little  boat  or  shallop  in  which  they  intended  to  sail  along  the  coast 
needed  to  be  repaired,  and  two  weeks  passed  before  it  was  ready.  Meantime  a 
party  protected  by  steel  caps  and  corselets  went  ashore  to  explore  the  country. 
A  few  Indians  were  seen  in  the  distance,  but  they  fled  as  the  Pilgrims  ap- 
proached. In  the  ruins  of  a  hut  were  found  some  corn  and  an  iron  kettle  that 
had  once  belonged  to  a  European  ship.  The  corn  they  carried  away  in  the 
kettle,  to  use  as  seed  in  the  spring.  Other  exploring  parties,  after  trips  in  the 
shallop,  pushed  on  over  hills  and  through  valleys  covered  deep  with  snow,  and 
found  more  deserted  houses,  corn,  and  many  graves  ;  for  a  pestilence  had  lately 
swept  off  the  Indian  population.  On  the  last  exploring  voyage,  the  waves  ran 
so  high  that  the  rudder  was  carried  away  and  the  explorers  steered  with  an  oar. 
As  night  came  on,  all  sail  was  spread  in  hope  of  reaching  shore  before  dark,  but 
the  mast  broke  and  the  sail  went  overboard.  However,  they  floated  to  an  island 
where  they  landed  and  spent  the  night.     On  the  second  day  after,  Monday, 

/  December  21,  the  explorers  reached  the  mainland.  On  the  beach,  half  in  sand 
and  half  in  water,  was  a  large  bowlder,  and  on  this  famous  Plymouth  Rock,  it 
is  said,  the  men  stepped  as  they  went  ashore. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 


57 


was  brought,  and  while  the  men  were  busy  putting  up  rude 
cabins,  the  women  and  children  remained  on  the  ship. 

The  First  Winter  was  a  dreadful  one.  The  Pilgrims  lived  in 
crowded  quarters,  and  the  effects  of  the  voyage  and  the  sever- 
ity of  the  winter  sent  half  of  them  to  their  graves  before  spring. 
But  the  rest  never  faltered,  and  when  the  Mayflower  returned 
to  England  in  April,  not  one  of  the  colonists  went  back  in  her. 
By  the  end  of  the  first  sum- 
mer a  fort  had  been  built 
on  a  hill,  seven  houses  had 
been  erected  along  a  village 
street  leading  down  from  the 
fort  to  the  harbor,  six  and 
twenty  acres  had  been  cleared, 
and  a  bountiful  harvest  had 
been  gathered.  Other  Pil- 
grims came  over,  the  neigh- 
boring Indians  kept  the  peace, 
and  the  colony  was  soon  pros- 
perous. 

Plymouth,  or  the  Old  Col- 
ony. —  As  soon  as  the  colony 
was  planted,  steps  were  taken 
to  buy  the  land  on  which  it 
stood.  The  old  Plymouth 
Cgnapany  (pp.  38,  39),  organ- 
ized in  1606,  was  succeeded 
in  1620  by  a  new  corporation 
called  the  Council  for^New  England,  which  received  a  grant  of 
all  the  land  in  America  betweenj40°  and  48°  of  north  latitude^ 
From  this  Council  for  New  England,  therefore,  the  Pilgrims 
bought  as  much  land  as  they  needed.  The  king,  however,  re- 
fused to  give  them  a  charter,  so  the  people  of  Plymouth,  or  the 
Old  Colony  as  it  came  to  be  called,  managed  their  own  affairs 
in  their  own  way  for  seventy  years.  At  first  the  men  assem- 
bled in  town  meeting,  made  laws,  and  elected  officers.     But 


Site  of  the  fort  at  Plymouth. 

In  the  old  "burying  ground." 


u 


58 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


Grave  of  Miles  Standish,  near  Plymouth, 


when  the  growth  of  the  colony  made  such  meetings  unwieldy, 
representative  government  was  set  up,  and  each  settlement  sent 

two  delegates  to  an  as-^ 
sembly. 

The  Salem  Colony.  — 
Shortly  after  1620,  at- 
tempts were  made  to 
plant  other  colonies  in 
New  England.!  Most  of 
them  failed,  but  some 
of  the  colonists  made  a 
settlement  called  Naum- 
keag.  Among  those  who 
watched  these  attempts 
with  great  interest  was 
John  White,  a  Puritan  rector  in  England.  He  believed  that 
the  time  had  come  for  the  Puritans  to  do  what  the  Separatists 
had  done.  The  quarrel  between  the  king  and  the  Puritans 
was  then  becoming  serious,  and  the  time  seemed  at  hand  when 
men  who  wished  to  worship  God  according  to  their  conscience 
would  have  to  seek  a  home  in  America.  White  accordingly 
began  to  urge  the  planting  of  a  Puritan  colony  in  New  Eng- 
land. So  well  did  he  succeed  that  an  association  was  formed, 
a  great  tract  of  land  was  obtained  from  the  Council  for  New 
England,  and  in  1028  sixty  men,  led  by  Jjohu-^ndicott,  settled 
at  Naumkeag  and  changed  its  name  to  Salem,  which  means 
"peace." 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  = —  The  members  of  the  as- 
sociation next  secured  from  King  Charles  I  a  charter  which 
made  them  a  corporation,  called  this  corporation  The  Governor 
and  Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  and  gave 
it  the  right  to  govern  colonies  planted  on  its  lands.  More  set- 
tlers with  a  great  herd  of  cattle  were  now  hurried  to  Salem, 
which  thus  became  the  largest  colony  in  New  England. 

1  As  to  the  early  settlements  read  Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  England, 
pp.  90-95. 


THE  ENGLISH   IN   NEW  ENGLAND 


59 


The  Great  Puritan  Migration.  —  The  same  year  (1629)  that 
the  charter  was  .obtained,  twelve  leading  Puritans  signed  an 
agreement  to  head  an  emigration  to  Massachusetts,  provided  the 
charter  and  government  of 
the  company  were  removed 
to  New  England.  One  of  the 
signers  was  John  Winthi'op, 
and  by  him  in  463.0  nearly  a 
thousand  Puritans  were  led 
to  Salem.   Thence  they  soon 
removed   to  a  little    three- 


The  early  New  England  colonies. 

hilled  peninsula  where  they  founded  the  town  of  Boston.  More 
emigrants  followed,  and  before  the  end  of  1630  seventeen  ships 
with  nearly  fifteen  hundred  Puritans  reached  Massachusetts. 
They  settled  at  Boston,  Charlestown,  Roxbury,  Dorchester, 
Watertown,  and  Cambridge.  ~~ 


60  THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 

The  charter  was  brought  with  them,  the  meetings  of  the 
company  were  now  held  in  the  colony,  and  so  many  of  the  colo- 
nists became  members  of  the  company  that  Massachusetts  was 
practically  self-governing.  Before  long  a  representative  govern- 
ment was  established  in  the  colony,  each  town  electing  members 
of  a  legislature  called  the  General  Court.  Every  town  also  had 
its  local  government  carried  on  by  town  meetings  ;  but  only 
church  members  were  allowed  to  vote. 

Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  —  About  two  years  after  the 
founding  of  Plymouth,  the  Council  for  New  England  granted  to 
John  Mason  and  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  (gor'jess)  a  large  tract 
of  land  between  the  rivers  Merrimac  and  Kennebec.  In  it  two 
settlements  (now  known  as  Portsmouth  and  Dover)  were 
'  planted  (1623)  on  the  Piscat'aqua  River,  and  some  fishing  sta- 
tions on  the  coast  farther  north. 

v     In  1629  the  province  was  divided.    M^son  obtained  a  patent 
(or  deed)  for  the  country  between  the  Merrimac  and  the  Piscata- 

qua,  and  named  it  New 
Hampshire.  Gorges  re- 
ceived the  country  be- 
tween the  Piscataqua 
and  the  Kennebec, 
which  was  called  Maine. 
English  armor.  Unlon  with   Massa- 

Now  in  Essex  Hall,  Salem.  ChUSCttS.  TllC    tOWUS 

on  the  Piscataqua  were  small  fishing  and  fur-trading  stations, 
and  after  Mason  died  (1635)  they  were  left  to  look  out  for 
themselves.  With  two  other  New  Hampshire  towns  (Exeter 
and  Hampton)  they  became  almost  independent  republics. 
They  set  up  their  own  governments,  made  their  own  laws,  and 
owed  allegiance  to  nobody  save  the  king.  Massachusetts,  how- 
ever, claimed  as  her  north  boundary  an  east  and  west  line  three 
miles  north  of  the  source  of  the  Merrimac  River. ^    She  there- 

1  The  Massachusetts  charter  granted  the  land  from  within  three  miles  south 
of  the  Charles  River,  to  within  three  miles  north  of  the  Merrimac  River,  and  all 
lands  "  of  and  within  the  breadth  aforesaid  "  across  the  continent. 


THE  ENGLISH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND 


61 


fore  soon  annexed  the  four  New  Hampshire  towns,  and  gave 
them  representation  in  her  legishiture. 

If  the  claim  of  Massachusetts  was  valid  in  the  case  of  the 
New  Hampshire  towns,  it  was  equally  so  for  those  of  Maine.  But 
it  was  not  till  1452,  after  Gorges  was  dead  and  the  settlers  in 
Maine  (at  York,  Wells,  and  Kittery)  had  set  up  a  government 
of  their  own,  that  these  towns  were  brought  under  her  authority. 
Later  (1677),  Massachusetts  bought  up  the  claim  of  the  heirs  of 
Gorges,  and  came  into  possession  of  the  whole  province. 

Rhode  Island.  —  Among 
those  who  came  to  Salem  in 
the  early  days  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  Colony,  was 
a  Puritan  minister  named 
Roger  Williams.^  But  he  had 
not  been  long  in  the  colony 
when  he  said  things  which 
angered  the  rulers.  He  held 
that  all  religions  should  be 
tolerated  ;  that  all  laws  re- 
quiring attendance  at  church 
should  be  repealed  ;  that  the 
land  belonged  to  the  Indians 
and  not  to  the  king  ;  and  that 
the  settlers  ought  to  buy  it 
from  the  Indians  and  not 
from  the  king.  For  these 
and  other  sayings  Williams 
was  ordered  back  to  England. 
But    he    fled    to    the    woods,  Roger  Wniiams  flees  to  the  woods. 


1  Roger  Williams  was  a  Welshman,  had  been  educated  at  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity in  England,  and  had  some  reputation  as  a  preacher  before  coming  to  Boston. 
There  he  was  welcomed  as  "a  godly  minister,"  and  in  time  was  called  to  a 
church  in  Salem ;  but  was  soon  forced  out  by  the  General  Court.  He  then  went 
to  Plymouth,  where  he  made  the  friendship  of  Mas'sasoit,  chief  of  the  Wam- 
pano'ags,  and  of  Canon'icus,  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  learned  their  lan- 
guage.   In  1633  he  returned  to  Salem,  and  was  again  made  pastor  of  a  church. 


62  THE  ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 

lived  with  the  Indians  for  a  winter,  and  in  the  following 
summer  founded  Providence  (1636). ^ 

And  now  another  disturber  appeared  in  Boston  in  the  per- 
son of  Anne  Hutchinson,^  and  in  a  little  while  she  and  her  fol- 
lowers were  driven  away.  Some  of  them  went  to  New  Hamp- 
shire and  founded  Exeter  (p.  60),  while  others  with  Anne 
herself  went  to  Rhode  Island  in  Narragansett  Bay,  and  founded 
Portsmouth  and  Newport. 

For  a  time  each  of  the  little  towns.  Providence,  Ports- 
mouth, and  Newport,  arranged  its  own  affairs  in  its  own  way, 
but  in  J.6iL^yilliams  obtained  from  the  English  Parliament  a 
charter  which  united  them  under  the  name  of  The  Incorpora- 
tion of  Providence  Plantations  on  the  Narragansett  Bay  in  New 
England. 

Connecticut  Founded.  —  Religious  troubles  did  not  end  with 
the  banishment  of  Williams  and  Anne  Hutchinson.  Many  per- 
sons objected  to  the  law  forbidding  any  but  church  members 
to  vote  or  hold  office.  So  in  1635  and  1636  numbers  of 
people,  led  by  Thomas  Hooker  and  others,  went  out  (from 
Dorchester,  Watertown,  and  Cambridge)  and  fcfdnded  Windsor, 
Wethersfield,  and  Hartford  in  the  Connecticut  River  valley. 
Later  a  party  (from  Roxbury)  settled  at  Springfield.  For  a 
while  these  four  towns  were  part  of  Massachusetts.  But  in 
^  1639  Windsor,  Hartford,  and  Wethersfield  adopted  a  consti- 
tution ^  and  founded  a  republic  which  they  called  Connecticut. 

1  The  fate  of  John  Endicott  shows  to  what  a  result  Williams's  teaching  was 
supposed  to  lead.  The  flag  of  the  Salem  militia  bore  the  red  cross  of  St.  George. 
Endicott  regarded  it  as  a  symbol  of  popery,  and  one  day  publicly  cut  out  the 
cross  from  the  flag.  This  was  thought  a  defiance  of  royal  authority,  and 
Endicott  was  declared  incapable  of  holding  ofiBce  for  a  year. 

2  Anne  Hutchinson  held  certain  religious  views  on  which  she  lectured  to 
the  women  of  Boston,  and  made  so  many  converts  that  she  split  the  church. 
Governor  Vane  favored  her,  but  John  Winthrop  opposed  her  teachinaft,  and 
when  he  became  governor  again  she  and  her  followers  were  ordered  to  quit  the 
colony.  ^ 

8  The  first  written  constitution  made  in  our  country,  and  the  first  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  that  was  made  by  the  people,  for  the  people.  Other  towns 
were  added  later,  among  them  Saybrook,  which  had  grown  up  about  an  English 
fort  built  in  1635  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 


63 


The    New   Haven   Colony.  —  As   the  quarrel   between    tlie 

Puritans  and  the  king  was  by  this  time  very  bitter,  the  Puri- 
tans continued  to  come  to  New  England  in    large    numbers. 

Some  of  them  made  settlements  on   Long   Island   Sound.     A 

large    band    under    John 

Davenport   founded    New 
V  Haven  (1638).  ^  Next"^in 

1639)lirif ord  and  Guilford 

were  started,  and  then  (in 

1640)  Stamford.     In  1643 

the  four  towns  joined  in  a 

sort  of  union  and  took  the 

name  New  Haven  Colony. 
The  United  Colonies  of 

New     England.  —  Thus 

there  were  planted  in  New 

England  between  1620  and 

1643  five  distinct  colonies,^ 
,  namely:  (1)  Plymouth, 
I  or  the  Old    Colony,     (2) 

Massachusetts     Bay    Col- 
ony, (3)  Rhode  Island,  or 

Providence       Plantations, 

(4)  Connecticut,  and  (5) 

the  New  Haven  Colony. 
IuJ,643  four  of  them  — 

cut,  and  New  Haven 


ruinted  by  liuughton. 

Puritan  dress. 


Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Counecti- 
united  for  defense  against  the  Indians 
and  the  Dutch,^  and  called  their  league  "The  United  Colonies 
of  New  England."  This  confederation  maintained  a  successful 
existence  for  forty-one  years. 

Effect  of  the  Civil  War  in  England.  —  When  the  New  Eng- 
land confedemtion  was  formed,  the  king  and  the  Puritans  in 


1  Besides  New  Hampshire,  which  in  1643  was  practically  part  of  Massachu- 
setts ;  and  Maine,  which  became  so  a  few  years  later. 

2  The  Dutch,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  had  planted  a  colony  in 
the  Hudson  valley,  and  disputed  English  possession  of  the  Connecticut. 


64  THE  ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 

old  England  had  come  to  blows,  and  civil  war  was  raging  there. 
During  the  next  twenty  years  no  more  English  colonies  were 
planted  in  America.  War  at  once  stopped  the  stream  of  emi- 
grants. The  Puritans  in  England  remained  to  fight  the  king, 
and  numbers  went  back  from  New  England  to  join  the  Parlia- 
mentary army.  For  the  next  fifteen  years  population  in  New 
England  increased  slowly. 

Trade  and  Commerce.  —  Life  in  the  New  England  colonies 
was  very  unlike  that  in  Virginia.  People  dwelt  in  villages, 
cultivated  small  farms,  and  were  largely  engaged  in  trade  and 
commerce.     They  bartered  corn  and  peas,  woolen  cloth,  and 

wampum    with    the    Indians    for 
beaver  skins,  which  they  ^ent  to 
I  .^^^K^L     England  to  pay  for  articles  bought 

%^.^^^BHH||^^M    from  the  mother  country.     They 
^'^mm^^^'^^  .j^m     g^lted  cod,  dried  alewives  and  bass, 
made  boards  and  staves  for  hogs- 
heads, and  sent  all  these   to  the 
West  Indies  to  be  exchanged  for 
stone  hand  mill.  ^^^^^^  molasses,  and  other  products 

Brought  from  England  in  1630  and  used  for        p     .1        .  •  rrM  i      -i,       i  • 

grinding  flour.     Now  in  Essex  Hall,     01    the  trOpiCS.        i  UCy    DUlit    SUipS 

Salem,  Mass.  •  ^^  ^^ie  scaports  whcrc  lumber  was 

cheap,  and  sold  them  abroad.  They  traded  with  Spain  and 
Portugal,  England,  the  Netherlands,  and  Virginia. 

Scarcity  of  Money.  —  The  colonists  brought  little  money 
with  them,  and  much  of  what  they  brought  went  back  to  Eng- 
land to  pay  for  supplies.  Buying  and  trading  in  New  England, 
therefore,  had  to  be  done  largely  without  gold  or  silver. 
Beaver  skins  and  wampum,  bushels  of  corn,  produce,  cattle, 
and  even  bullets  were  used  as  money  and  passed  at  rates  fixed 
by  law.^  In  the  hope  of  remedying  the  scarcity  of  money,  the 
government  of  Massachusetts  ordered  that  a  mint  should  be  set 

1  Students  at  Harvard  College  for  many  years  paid  their  term  bills  with  prod- 
uce, meat,  and  live  stock.  In  1649  a  student  paid  his  bill  with  "an  old  cow," 
and  the  steward  of  the  college  made  separate  credits  for  her  hide,  her  "suet  and 
inwards."  On  another  occasion  a  goat  was  taken  and  valued  at  30  shillings. 
Taxes  also  were  paid  in  corn  and  cattle. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 


65 


up,  and  in  1652  Spanish 

silver  brought  from   the 

West  Indies  was  melted 

and    coined    into     Pine 

Tree  currenc}-.^ 

Manufactures.  —  That 

less  gold  and  silver  might 

go   abroad   for   supplies, 

home  manufactures  were 

encouraged    by   gifts    of 

money,  by  exemptions  of 

property  from   taxation, 

and   by   excusing   work- 
men from  military  duty. 

The   cultivation   of    flax 

was  encouraged,  children  Spinning  wool. 

were  taught  to  spin  and  weave,  and  glass  works,  salt  works, 

and  iron  furnaces  were  started. 

On  the  farms  utensils  and  furniture  were 
generally  made  in  the  household.  Almost 
everything  was  made  of  wood,  as  spoons, 
tankards,  pails,  firkins,  hinges  for  cupboard 
and  closet  doors,  latches,  plows,  and  har- 
rows. Every  boy  learned  to  use  his  jack- 
knife,  and  could  make  brooms  from  birch 
trees,  bowls  and  dippers  and  bottles  from 
gourds,  and  butter  paddles  from  red  cherry. 
The  women  made  soap  and  candles,  carded 
wool,  spun,  wove,  bleached  or  dyed  the 
linen  and  woolen  cloth,  and  made  the  gar- 
ments for  the  family.  They  knit  mittens 
and  stockings,  made  straw  hats  and  bas- 


Yarn  reel.^ 


In  Essex  Hall,  Salem, 

Mass. 


1  The  coins  were  the  shilling,  sixpence,  threepence,  and  twopence.    On  one 
side  of  each  coin  was  stamped  a  rude  representation  of  a  pine  tree. 

2  On  which  the  yam  was  wound  after  it  was  spun.     For  a  picture  of  the 
loom  used  in  weaving,  see  p.  52. 

MCM.   BRIEF 5 


G6  THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 

kets,  and  plucked  the  feathers  from  live  geese  for  beds  and 
pillows. 

The  Houses.  —  On  the  farms  the  houses  of  the  earl}^  settlers 
were  of  logs,  or  were  framed  structures  covered  with  shingles 
or  clapboards.  The  tables,  chairs,  stools,  and  bedsteads  were 
of  the  plainest  sort,  and  were  often  made  of  puncheons,  that  is, 
of  small  tree  trunks  split  in  half.  Sometimes  the  table  would 
be  a  long  board  laid  across  two  X  supports.  This  was  "the 
board,"  around  which  the  family  sat  at  meals. ^  In  tlie  better 
houses  in  the  towns  the  furniture  was  of  course  very  much  finer. 

The  Villages.  — The  center  of  village  life  was  the  meeting- 
house, or  church.  Near  by  was  the  house  of  the  minister,  the 
inn  or  tavern,  and  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabitants.  In  early 
times,  if  the  village  was  on  the  frontier  or  exposed  to  Indian 
attack  it  was  guarded  by  blockhouses  surrounded  by  a  high 
stockade.  These  "  garrison  houses,"  as  they  were  called,  were 
of  stone  or  logs,  with  the  second  story  projecting  over  the  iirst, 
and  had  loopholes  in  place  of  windows.  Most  of  them  have 
long  since  disappeared,  but  a  few  still  remain,  turned  into 
dwellings.  Sometimes  there  were  three  or  more  blockhouses 
in  a  village,  and  to  these  when  the  Indians  weje  troublesome 
the  farmers  and  their  families  came  each  night  to  sleep. 

Schools. — Among  the  acts  passed  by  the  General  Court  of 
Massachiisetts  in  early  days  were  several  in  regard  to  educa- 
tion. In  1636  four  hundred  pounds  ^  was  voted  for  a  public 
school.  Two  years  later,  John  Harvard,  a  former  minister, 
left  his  library  and  half  his  fortune  to  this  school,  and  in  grate- 
ful remembrance  it  was  called  Harvard  College.    Thus  started, 

1  On  the  board  were  a  saltcellar,  wooden  plates  or  trenchers,  wooden  or 
pewter  spoons,  and  knives,  but  no  china,  no  glass.  Forks,  it  is  said,  were  not 
known  even  in  England  till  1608,  and  the  first  ever  seen  in  New  England  were 
at  Governor  Winthrop's  table  in  1632.  Those  who  wished  a  drink  of  water 
drank  from  a  single  wooden  tankard  passed  around  the  table  ;  or  they  went  to 
the  bucket  and  used  a  gourd. 

2  This  was  a  large  sum  in  those  days,  and  about  as  much  as  was  raised  by 
taxation  in  a  year.  The  General  Court  which  voted  the  money,  it  has  been 
said,  was  "  the  first  body  in  which  the  people,  by  their  representatives,  ever  gave 
their  own  money  to  found  a  place  of  education." 


THE   ENGLISH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND 


67 


^f. 


the  good  work  went  on.  P.arents  and  masters  were  by  law 
compelled  to  teach  their  children  and  apprentices  to  read  Eng- 
lish, know  the  important  laws,  and  repeat  the  orthodox  cate- 
chism. Another  law  required 
V  every  town  of  fifty  families 
to  mamtain  a  school  for  at 
least  six  months  a  jear,  and 
every  town  of  two  hundred 
householders  a  primary  and 
a  grammar  school,  wherein 
Latin  should  be  tauglit. 

Persecution  of  the  Quakers. 
—  Though  the  Puritans  suf- 
fered persecution  in  the  Old  Fairbanks  house,  near  Boston. 
World,  they  had  not  learned  as  it  looks  to-day.  Buiit  partly  in  icso. 
to  be  tolerant.  As  we  have  seen,  no  man  could  vote  in  Massa^- 
chusetts  who  was  not  a  member  of  their  church.  They  drove 
out  Roger  Williams  and  Anne  Hutchinson,  and  again  and 
again,  in  later  times,  banished,  or  fined,  imprisoned,  and  flogged 
men  and  women  who  wished  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way. 
When  two  Quaker  women  arrived  (1656),  they  were  sent  away 
and  a  sharp  law  was  made  against  their  sect.^  But  in  spite  of 
all  persecution,  the  Quakers  kept  coming.  At  last  (in  1659- 
61)  three  men  and  a  woman  wei*e  hanged  on  Boston  Common 
because  they  returned  after  having  once  been  banished.  Plym- 
outh and  Connecticut  also  enacted  laws  against  the  Quakers. ^ 

1  The  Friends,  or  Quakers,  lived  pure,  upright,  simple  lives.  They  protested 
against  all  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  against  all  church  government.  They  re- 
fused to  take  any  oaths,  to  use  any  titles,  or  to  serve  in  war,  because  they 
thought  these  things  wrong.     They  were  much  persecuted  in  England. 

2  Another  incident  which  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  character  of  these 
early  times  is  the  witchcraft  delusion  of  1692.  Nearly  everybody  in  those  days 
believed  in  witchcraft,  and  several  persons  in  the  colonies  had  been  put  to 
death  as  witches.  When,  therefore,  in  1692,  the  children  of  a  Salem  minister 
began  to  behave  queerly  and  said  that  an  Indian  slave  woman  had  bewitched 
them,  they  were  believed.  But  the  delusion  did  not  stop  with  the  children.  In  a 
few  weeks  scores  of  people  in  Salem  were  accusing  their  neighbors  of  all  sorts  of 
crimes  and  witch  orgies.  Many  declared  that  the  witches  stuck  pins  into  them. 
Twenty  persons  were  put  to  death  as  witches  before  the  craze  came  to  an  end. 


68  THE  ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 

Connecticut  Chartered  (1662). — By  this  time  the  days  of  Pu- 
ritan rule  in  old  England  were  over.  In  1660  King  Charles  II 
was  placed  upon  the  throne  of  his  father.  Connecticut  promptly 
acknowledged  him  as  king,  and  sent  her  governor,  the  younger 
John  Winthrop,  to  London  to  obtain  a  charter.  He  easily 
secured  one  (in  1662^  which  spread  the  authority  of  Connect- 
icut over  the  New  Haven  Colony,^  gave  her  a  domain  stretch- 
ing across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific,  and  established  a  gov- 
erjiment  so  liberal  that  the  charter  was  kept  in  force  till  1818. 
New  Haven  Colony  for  a  time  resisted;  but  one  by  one  the 
towns  which  formed  the  colony  acknowledged  the  authority  of 
Connecticut. 

The  Second  Charter  of  Rhode  Island.  —  Rhode  Island,  like- 
wise, proclaimed  the  king  and  sought  a  new  charter.  When 
obtained  (in  1663),  it  defined  her  boundaries,  and  provided  for 
a  form  of  government  quite  as  liberal  as  that  of  Connecticut. 
It  remained  in  force  one  hundred  and  seventy -jiine  years. 

The  New  Colonial  Era.  —  From  1640  to  1660  the  English  col- 
onies in  America  had  been  left  much  to  themselves.  No  new 
colonies  had  been  founded,  and  the  old  ones  had  managed  their 
own  affairs  in  their  own  way.  But  with  Charles  II  a  new  era 
opens.  Several  new  colonies  were  soon  established ;  and 
though  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  received  liberal  charters, 
all  the  colonies  were  soon  to  feel  the  king's  control.  As  we 
shall  see  later,  Massachusetts  was  deprived  of  her  charter;  but 
after  a  few  years  she  received  a  new  one  (1691),  which  united 
the  Plymouth  Colony,  Massachusetts,  and  Maine  in  the  one 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  New  Hampshire,  however,  was 
made  a  separate  royal  province. 

1  The  New  Haven  Colony  was  destroyed  as  a  distinct  colony  because  its 
people  offended  the  king  by  sheltering  Edward  Whalley  and  William  Goffe,  two 
of  the  regicides,  or  judges  who  sat  in  the  tribunal  that  condemned  Charles  I. 
When  they  fled  to  New  England  in  1660,  a  royal  order  for  their  arrest  was  sent 
over  after  them,  and  a  hot  pursuit  began.  For  a  month  they  lived  in  a  cave,  at 
other  times  in  cellars  in  Milford,  Guilford,  and  New  Haven  ;  and  once  they  hid 
under  a  bridge  while  their  pursuers  galloped  past  overhead.  After  hiding  in 
these  ways  about  New  Haven  for  three  years  they  went  to  Hadley  in  Massachu- 
setts, where  all  trace  of  them  disappears. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 


69 


SUMMARY 

1.  In  1620  a  body  of  Separatists  reached  Cape  Cod  and  founded  Plym- 
outh, the  first  English  settlement  north  of  Virginia. 

2.  Two  years  later  the  Council  for  New  England  granted  land  to 
Gorges  and  Mason,  from  which  grew  Maine  and  New  Hampshire. 

3.  Between  1628  and  1630  a  great  Puritan  migration  established  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  later  absorbed  Maine  and  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

4.  Religious  disputes  led  to  the  expulsion  of  Roger  Williams  and  Anne 
Hutchinson  from  Massachusetts.  They  founded  towns  later  united  (1643) 
as  Providence  Plantations  (Rhode  Island). 

5.  Other  religious  disputes  led  to  the  migration  of  people  who  settled 
(1635-36)  in  the  Connecticut  valley  and  founded  (1639)  Connecticut. 

6.  Between  1638  and  1640  other  towns  were  planted  on  Long  Island 
Sound,  and  four  of  them  united  (1643)  and  formed  the  New  Haven  Colony. 

7.  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  and  New  Haven  joined  in  a 
league  —  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England  (1643-84). 

8.  New  Haven  was  united  with  Connecticut  (1662),  and  Plymouth 
with  Massachusetts  (1691),  while  New  Hampshire  was  made  a  separate  prov- 
ince; so  that  after  1691  the  New  England  colonies  were  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut. 

9.  The  New  England  colonists  lived  largely  in  villages.  They  were 
engaged  in  farming,  manufacturing,  and  commerce. 

10.  For  twenty  years,  during  the  Civil  AVar  and  the  Puritan  rule  in  Eng- 
land, the  colonies  were  left  to  themselves;  but  in  1660  Charles  II  became 
king  of  England,  and  a  new  era  began  in  colonial  affairs. 


The  Charter  Oak,  Hartford,  Conn. 

From  an  old  print. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  MIDDLE   AND   SOUTHERN   COLONIES 

The  Coming  of  the  Dutch.  —  We  have  now  seen  how  English 
colonies  were  planted  in  the  lands  about  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 


Landing  of  Hudson.    From  an  old  print. 

in  New  England.  Into  the  country  lying  between,  there  came 
in  1609  an  intruder  in  the  form  of  a  little  Dutch  ship  called  fhe 
Half-Moon.  The  Dutch  East  India  Company  had  fitted  her 
out  and  sent  Captain  Henry  Hudson  in  her  to  seek  a  north- 
easterly passage  to  China.  Driven  back  by  ic^in  his  attempt 
to  sail  north  of  Europe,  Hudson  turned  westward,  and  came  at 
last  to  Delaware  Bay.     Up  this  the  Half-Moon  went  a  little 

70 


THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES 


71 


way,  but,  grounding  on 
the  shoals,  Hudson 
turned  about,  followed 
the  coast  northward, 
and  sailed  up  the  river 
now  called  by  his  name. 
He  went  as  far  as  the 
site  of  Albany;  then, 
finding  that  the  Hud- 
son was  not  a  passage 
through  the  continent, 
he  returned  to  Europe.^ 
Discoveries  of  Block 
and  May.  —  The  discov- 
ery of  the  Hudson  gave 
Holland  or  the  Nether- 
lands a  claim  to  the 
country  it  drained,  and 
year  after  year  Dutch 
explorers  visited  the  re- 
gion. One  of  them, 
\/ AdrienJ^lock,  (in  1614) 
went  through  Long  Is- 


New  Netherland. 


land  Sound,  ascended  the  Connecticut  River  as  far  as  the  site 
of  Hartford,  and  sailed  along  the  coast  to  a  point  beyond  Cape 
Cod;  Block  Island  now  bears  his  name.  Another,  May,  went 
southward,  passed  between  two  capes,^  and  explored  Delaware 

1  Henry  Hudson  was  an  English  seaman  who  twice  before  had  made  voyages 
to  the  north  and  northeastward  for  an  English  trading  company.  Stopping  in 
England  on  his  return  from  America,  Hudson  sent  a  report  of  his  discovery  to 
the  Dutch  company  and  offered  to  go  on  another  voyage  to  search  for  the 
northwest  passage.  He  was  ordered  to  come  to  Amsterdam,  but  the  English 
authorities  would  not  let  him  go.  In  1610  he  sailed  again  for  the  English  and 
entered  Hudson  Bay,  where  during  some  months  his  ship  was  locked  in  the  ice. 
The  crew  mutinied  and  put  Hudson,  his  son,  and  seven  sick  men  adrift  in  an 
open  boat,  and  then  sailed  for  England.  There  the  crew  were  imprisoned.  An 
expedition  was  sent  in  search  of  Hudson,  but  no  trace  of  him  was  found. 

2  One  of  these.  Cape  May,  now  bears  his  name;  the  gther,  Cape  Henlopen, 
is  called  after  a  town  in  Holland. 


72 


THE   DUTCH  IN  AMERICA 


Bay.  The  Dutch  then  claimed  the  country  from  the  Dela- 
ware to  Cape  Cod ;  that  is,  as  far  as  May  and  Block  had 
explored. 

The  Fur  Trade.  —  Important  as  these  discoveries  were,  they 
interested  the  Dutch  far  less  than  the  prospect  of  a  rich  fur 
trade  with  the  Indians,  and  in  a  few  years  Dutch  traders  had 
four  little  houses  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  a  little  fort  not  far 
from  the  site  of  Albany.  From  it  buyers  went  out  among  the 
Mohawk  Indians  and  returned  laden  with  the  skins  of  beavers 
and  other  valuable  furs ;  and  to  the  fort  by  and  by  the  Indians 
came  to  trade.  So  valuable  was  this  traflic  that  those  engaged 
in  it  formed  a  company,  obtained  from  the  Dutch  government 
a  charter,  and  for  three  years  (1615-18)  enjoyed  a  monopoly 
of  the  fur  trade  from  the  Delaware  to  the  Hudson. 

The  Dutch  West  India  Company.  —  When  the  three  years 
expired  the  charter  was  not  renewed  ;  but  a  new  association 
called  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  was  /, 
chartered  (1621)  and  given  great  political 
and  commercial  power  over  New  Netherland, 
as  the  Dutch  possessions  in  North  America 
were  now  called.  More  settlers  were  sent 
out  (in  1623),  some  to  Fort  Orange  on  the 
site  of  Albany,  some  to  Fort  Nassau  on 
the  South  or  Delaware  River,  some  to  the 
Fresh  or  Connecticut  River,  some  to  Long 
Island,  and  some  to  Manhattan  Island,  where 
they  founded  the  town  of  New  Amsterdam. 

The  Patroons.  —  All  the  little  Dutch  set- 
tlements were  forts  or  strong  buildings  sur- 
rounded by  palisades,  and  were  centers  of 
the  fur  trade.  Very  little  farming  was  done. 
In  order  to  encourage  farming,  the  West  India  Company  (in 
1629)  offered  an  immense  tract  of  land  to  any  member  of  the 
company  who  should  take  out  a  colony  of  fifty  families.  The 
estate  of  a  Patroon,  as  such  a  man  was  called,  was  to  extend 
sixteen  miles  along  one  bank  or  eight  miles  along  both  banks 


Dutch  merchant 
(1620). 


THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  73 

of  a  river,  and  back  almost  any  distance  into  the  country.^     A 
number  of  these  patroonships  were  established  on  the  Hudson. 

The  Dutch  on  the  Connecticut  —  The  first  attempt  (in  1623) 
of  the  Dutch  to  build  a  fort  on  the  Connecticut  failed  ;  for  the 
company  could  not  spare  enough  men  to  hold  the  valley.  But 
later  the  Dutch  returned,  nailed  the  arms  of  Holland  to  a 
tree  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  token  of  ownership,  and 
(1^8)  built  Fort  Gpod  Hope  where  Hartford  now  stands. 
When  the  Indians  informed  the  English  of  this,  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts  bade  the  Dutch  begone ;  and  when  they  would 
not  go,  built  a  fort  higher  up  the  river  at  Windsor  (1633),  and 
another  (1635)  at  Say  brook  at  the  river's  mo^th,  so  as  to  cut 
them  off  from  New  Amsterdam.  The  English  colony  of  Con- 
necticut was  now  established  in  the  valley ;  but  twenty  years 
passed  before  Fort  Good  Hope  was  taken  from  the  Dutch. 

Dutch  and  Swedes  on  the  Delaware. — The  Dutch  settlers 
on  the  Delaware  were  driven  off  by  Indians,  but  a  garrison  was 
sent  back  to  hold  Fort  Nassau.  Meantime  the  Swedes  ap- 
peared on  the  Delaware.  After  the  organization  of  the  Dutch 
West  India  Conipany  (1623),  WjjJiam  Usselincx  of  Amsterdam 
went  to  Sweden  and  urged  the  king  to  charter  a  similar  com-  ^ 
pany  of  Swedish  merchants.  A  company  to  trade  with  Asia, 
Airica,  and  America  was  accordingly  formed.  Some  years 
later  Queen  Christina  chartered  the  South  Company,  and  in 
1638^  a  colony  was  sent  out  by  this  company,  the  west  bank  of 
the  Delaware  from  its  mouth  to  the  Schuylkill  (skool'kill)  was 
bought  from  the  Indians,  and  a  fort  (Christina)  was  built  on 
the  site  of  Wilmington.  The  Dutch  governor  at  New  Amster- 
dam protested,  but  for  a  dozen  years  the  Swedes  remained  un- 

1  The  first  patroonship  was  Swandale,  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  Delaware ; 
but  the  Indians  were  troublesome,  and  the  estate  was  abandoned.  The  second, 
granted  to  Michael  Pauw,  included  Staten  Island  and  much  of  what  is  now 
Jersey  City ;  it  was  sold  back  to  the  company  after  a  few  years.  The  most 
successful  patroonship  was  the  Van  Rensselaer  (ren'se-ler)  estate  on  the  Hudson 
near  Albany.  It  extended  twenty-four  miles  along  both  banks  of  the  river  and 
ran  back  into  the  country  twenty-four  miles  from  each  bank.  The  family  still 
occupies  a  small  part  of  the  estate. 


74 


THE  DUTCH  IN  AMERICA 


molested,  and  scattered  their  settlements  along  the  shores  of 
Delaware  River  and  Bay,  and  called  their  country  New  Sweden. 
Alarmed  at  this,  Governor  Peter  Stuyvesant  (stiS^e-sant)  of 
New  Netherland  built  a  fort  to  cut  off  the  Swedes  from  the 

sea.  But  a  Swedish  war 
vessel  captured  the 
Dutch  fort ;  whereupon 
Stuyvesant  sailed  up  the 
Delaware  with  a  fleet 
and  army,  quietly  took 
possession  of  New  Swe- 
den, and  made  it  once 
more  Dutch  territory 
(1655). 

Dutch  Rule.  —  The 
rulers  of  New  Nether- 
land were  a  director  gen- 
eral, or  governor,  and  fiyje 
councilmen  appoijited  bj  ^ , 
the  West  India  Com- 
pany. One  of  these 
governors,  Peter  Minui^*.^ 
bought  Manhattan  (the 
island  now  covered  by  a 
part  of  New  York  city) 
from  the  Indians  Q.626.) 
for  60  guilders,  or  about 

stuyvesant  at  New  Amsterdam.  §24  of  OUr  money.  ^ 


1  New  Amsterdam  was  then  a  cluster  of  some  thirty  one-story  log  houses 
with  bark  roofs,  and  two  hundred  population  engaged  in  the  fur  trade.  The 
town  at  first  grew  slowly.  There  were  no  such  persecution  and  distress  in  Hol- 
land as  in  England,  and  therefore  little  inducement  for  men  to  migrate.  Minuit 
was  succeeded  as  governor  by  Van  Twiller  (1633),  and  he  by  Kieft  (1638), 
during  whose  term  all  monopolies  of  trade  were  abandoned.  The  fur  trade, 
heretofore  limited  to  agents  of  the  company,  was  opened  to  the  world,  and  new 
inducements  were  offered  to  immigrants.  Any  farmer  who  would  go  to  New 
Netherland  was  carried  free  with  his  family,  and  was  given  a  farm,  with  a  house, 
barn,  horses,  cows,  sheep,  swine,  and  tools,  for  a  small  annual  rent. 


THE   MIDDLE  COLONIES 


75 


Demand  for  Popular  Government.  —  As  population  increased, 
the  people  began  to  demand  a  share  in  the  government ;  they 
wished  to  elect  four  of  the  five  councilmen.  A  long  quarrel 
followed,  but  Governor  Stuyvesant  at  last  ordered  the  election 
of  nine  men  to  aid  him  when  necessary. ^ 

Population  and  Customs.  — Though  most  of  the  New  Neth- 
erlanders  were  Dutch,  there  were  among  them  also  Germans, 
French  Huguenots,  English,  Scotch,  Jews,  Swedes,  and  as 
many  religious  sects  as  nationalities. 

The  Dutch  of  New  Netherland  were  a  jolly  people,  much 
given  to  bowling  and  holidays.  They  kept  New  Year's  Day, 
St.  Valentine's  Day,  Eas- 
ter and  Pinkster  (Sunday, 
Monday,  and  Tuesday  the 
seventh  week  after  Easter), 
May  Day,  St.  Nicholas 
Day  (December  6),  and 
Christmas.  On  Pinkster 
days  the  whole  population, 
negro  slaves  included, 
went  off  to  the  woods  on 
picnics.  Kirmess,  a  sort 
of  annual  fair  for  each 
town,  furnished  additional 
holidays.  The  people  rose 
at  dawn,  dined  at  noon, 
and  supped  at  six.  In  no 
colony  were  the  people 
better  housed  and  fed. 

The  Houses  stood  with 
their  gable  ends  to  the  street,  and  often  a  beam  projected  from 
the  gable,  by  means  of  which  heavy  articles  might  be  raised  to 


Dutch  door  and  stoop. 


1  From  these  nine  men  in  time  came  an  appeal  to  the  Dutch  government 
to  turn  out  tlie  company  and  give  the  people  a  government  of  their  own.  The 
first  demand  was  refused,  but  the  second  was  partly  granted  ;  for  in  1653  New 
Amsterdam  was  incorporated  as  a  city  with  a  popular  government.  " 


76 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


the  attic.  The  door  was  divided  into  an  upper  and  a  lower 
half,  and  before  it  was  a  spacious  stoop  with  seats,  where  the 
family  gathered  on  warm  evenings. 

Within  the  house  were  huge  fireplaces  adorned  with  blue 
or  pink  tiles  on  which  were  Bible  scenes  or  texts,  a  huge  moon- 
faced clock,  a  Dutch  Bible,  spinning  wheels,  cupboards  full  of 
Delft  plates  and  pewter  dishes,  rush-bottom  chairs,  great  chests 

for  linen  and  clothes,  and 
four  -  posted  bedsteads 
with  curtains,  featlier 
beds,  and  dimity  cover- 
lets, and  underneath  a 
trundle-bed  for  the  chil- 
dren. A  warming  pan  was 
used  to  take  the  chill  off 
the  linen  sheets  on  cold 
nights.  In  the  houses  of 
the  humbler  sort  the  fur- 
niture was  plainer,  and 
sand  on  the  floors  did 
duty  for  carpets. 

Trade  and  Commerce. 
—  The  chief  products  of 
the  colony  were  furs, 
lumber,  wheat,  and  flour. 
The  center  of  the  fur 
trade  was  Fort  .Orange, 
from  which  great  quan- 
tities of  beaver  and  other  skins  purchased  from  the  Indians 
were  sent  to  New  Amsterdam  ;  and  to  this  port  came  vessels 
from  the  West  Indies,  Portugal,  and  England,  as  well  as  from 
Holland.  There  was  scarcely  any  manufacturing.  The  com- 
mercial spirit  of  the  Dutch  overshadowed  everything  else,  and 
kept  agriculture  at  a  low  stage. 

The  English  seize  New  Netherland.  —  The  English,  who 
claimed  the  continent  from  Maine  to  Florida,  and  from  the 


Four-posted  bed,  and  steps  used  in  getting 
into  it. 

In  the  Van  Cortland    Mansion,  New  York  city. 


\/ 


THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES  77 

Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  regarded  the  Dutch  as  intruders.  Soon 
after  Charles  II  came  to  the  throne,  he  granted  the  country 
from  the  Delaware  to  the  Connecticut,  with  Long  Island  and 
some  other  territory,  to  his  brother  James,  the  Duke  of  York. 

In.jL66-i,  accordingly,  a  fleet  was  sent  to  take  possession  of 
New  Amsterdam.  Stuy  vesant  called  out  his  troops  and  made 
ready  to  fight.  But  the  people  were  tired  of  the  arbitrary  rule 
of  the  Dutch  governors,  and  petitioned  him  to  yield.  At  last 
he  answered,  "  Well,  let  it  be  so,  but  I  would  rather  be  carried  L 
out  dead." 

New  York.  —  The  Dutch  flag  was  then  lowered,  and  New 
Netherland  passed  into  English  hands.     New  Amsterdam  was   .^  / 
promptly  renamed  New.  York ;  Fort  Orange  was  called  Albany ; 
and  the  greater  part  of  New  Netherland  became  the  province 
of  New  York.i 

Government  of  New  York.  —  The  governor  appointed  by  the 
Duke  of  York  drew  up  a  code  of  laws  known  later  as  the 
Duke's  Laws.  No  provision  was  made  for  a  legislature,  nor  for  1/ 
town  meetings,  nor  for  schools. ^  Government  of  this  sort  did 
not  please  the  English  on  Long  Island  and  elsewhere.  Demands 
were  at  once  made  for  a  share  in  the  lawmaking.  Some  of  the 
people  refused  to  pay  taxes,  and  some  towns  to  elect  officers, 
and  sent  strong  protests  against  taxation  without  their  con- 
sent. But  nearly  twenty  years  passed  before  New  York  secured 
a  representative  legislature.^ 

1  Read  Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies,  Vol.  I,  pp.  286-291.  In  1673, 
England  and  Holland  being  at  war,  a  Dutch  fleet  recaptured  New  York  and 
named  it  New  Orange,  and  held  it  for  a  few  months.  When  peace  was  made 
(1674)  the  city  was  restored  to  the  English,  and  Dutch  rule  in  North  America 
was  over  forever. 

2  Each  town  was  to  elect  a  constable  and  eight  overseers,  with  limited 
powers.  Several  towns  were  grouped  into  a  "riding,"  over  which  presided  a 
sheriff  appointed  by  the  governor.  In  1683  the  ridings  became  counties,  and  in 
1703  it  was  ordered  that  the  people  of  each  town  should  elect  members  of  a 
board  of  supervisors. 

3  In  1683  Thomas  Dongan  came  out  as  governor,  with  authority  to  call  an  as- 
sembly to  aid  in  making  laws  and  levying  taxes.  Seventeen  representatives  met  in 
New  York,  enacted  some  laws,  and  framed  a  Charter  of  Franchises  and  Privileges. 
The  duke  signed  this  as  proprietor  in  1684  ;  but  revoked  it  as  King  James  II. 


78 


THE  ENGLISH    IN  AMERICA 


Education.  —  In  the  schools  established  by  the  Dutch,  the 
master  was  often  the  preacher  or  the  sexton  of  the  Dutch  church. 
Many  of  the  Long  Island  towns  were  founded  by  New  Eng- 
landers,  who  long  kept  up  their  Puritan  customs  and  methods 
of  education.     But  outside  of  New  York  city  and  a  few  other 

large  towns,  there  were 
no  good  schools  during 
the  early  years  of  the 
New  York  colony. 

New  Jersey.  —  Before 
the  Duke  of  York  had 
possession  of  his  province, 
he  cut  off  the  piece  be- 
tween the  Delaware  River 
and  the  lower  Hudson 
and  gave  it  to  Sir  George 
Carteret  and  Lord  Berke- 
ley(1664).  They  named 
this  land  New  Jersey, 
and  divided  it  by  the 
line  shown  on  the  map 
into  East  and  West  Jer- 
sey. Lord  Berkeley  sold 
his    part  —  West   Jersey 


Km   ^^ 


SCALE   OF  MILES 


New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  eastern 
Pennsylvania. 


—  to  some  Quakers,  and 
a  Quaker  colony  was  planted  at  Burlington.  Carteret's  portion 
—  East  Jersey  —  was  sold  after  his  death  to  William  Penn  ^ 

1  William  Penn  was  the  son  of  Sir  William  Penn,  an  admiral  in  the  navy  of 
the  Commonwealth  and  a  friend  of  Charles  II.  At  Oxford  young  William  Penn 
was  known  as  an  athlete  and  a  scholar  and  a  linguist,  a  reputation  he  main- 
tained in  after  life  by  learning  to  speak  Latin,  French,  German,  Dutch,  and  Italian. 
After  becoming  a  Quaker,  he  was  taken  from  Oxford  and  traveled  in  France,  Italy, 
and  Ireland,  where  he  was  imprisoned  for  attending  a  Quaker  meeting.  The 
father  at  first  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  religious  views  of  the  son,  but  in  the 
end  became  reconciled,  and  on  the  death  of  the  admiral  (in  1670),  William  Penn 
inherited  a  fortune.  Thenceforth  all  his  time,  means,  and  energy  were  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  Quakers.  For  a  short  account  of  Penn,  read  Fiske's 
Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies,  Vol.  II,  pp.  114-118,  129-130. 


THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES 


79 


and  other  Quakers,  who  had  acquired  West  Jersey  also.  In 
1702,  however,  the  proprietors  gave  up  their  right  to  govern, 
and  the  two  colonies  were  united  into  the  one  royal  province 
of  New  Jersey. 

Pennsylvania.  —  Penn  had  joined  the  Friends,  or  Quakers, 
when  a  very  young  man.  Tlie  part  he  took  in  the  settlement 
of  New  Jersey  led  him 
to  think  of  founding  a 
colony  where  not  only  the 
Quakers,  but  any  others 
who  were  persecuted, 
might  find  a  refuge,  and 
where  he  might  try  a 
"  holy  experiment "  in 
government  after  his  own 
ideas.  The  king  was 
therefore  petitioned  "  for 
a  tract  of  land  in  Amer- 
ica lying  north  of  Mary- 
land," and  in  1681  Penn 
received  a  large  block  of 
land,  which  was  named 
Pennsylvania,  or  Penn's 
Woodland.  1 

Philadelphia  Founded. 
—  Having  received  his 
charter,  Penn  wrote  an 
account  of  his  province  and  circulated  it  in  England,  Ireland, 
Wales,  Holland,  and  Germany.  In  the  autumn  of  1681  three 
shiploads  of  colonists  were  sent  over.  Penn  himself  came  the 
next  spring,  and  made  his  way  to  the  spot  chosen  for  the  site 
of  Philadelphia.     The  land  belonged  to  three  Swedish  brothers  ; 


Charles  II  and  Penn. 


1  Penn  intended  to  call  his  tract  New  Wales,  but  to  please  the  king  changed 
it  to  Sylvania,  before  which  the  king  put  the  name  Penn,  in  honor  of  Penn's 
father.  The  king  owed  Penn's  father  £  16,000,  and  considered  the  debt  paid  by 
the  land  grant. 


80  THE   ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 

SO  Penn  bought  it,  and  began  the  work  of  marking  out  the 
streets  and  building  houses.  Before  a  year  went  by,  Philadel- 
phia was  a  town  of  eighty  houses. 

Penn  and  the  Indians.  —  In  dealing  with  the  Indians  the  aim 
of  Penn  was  to  make  them  friends.  Before  coming  over  he 
sent  letters  to  be  read  to  them.  After  his  arrival  he  walked 
with  them,  sat  with  them  to  watch  their  young  men  dance, 
joined  in  their  feasts,  and,  it  is  said,  planned  a  sort  of  court  or 
jury  of  six  whites  and  six  Indians  to  settle  disputes  with  the 
natives.  In  June,  1683,  Penn  met  the  Indians  and  made  a  treaty 
which,  unlike  most  other  treaties,  was  kept  by  both  parties. 

The  Government  of  Pennsylvania.  —  As  proprietor  of  Penn- 
sylvania it  became  the  duty  of  Penn  to  provide  a  government  for 
the  settlers,  which  he  did  in  the  Frame  of  Government.  This 
provided  for  a  governor  appointed  by  the  proprietor,  a  legis- 
lature of  two  houses  elected  by  the  people,  judges  partly 
elected  by  the  people,  and  a  vote  by  ballot. ^  In  1701  Penn 
granted  a  new  constitution  which  kept  less  power  for  his  gov- 
ernor, and  gave  more  power  and  rights  to  the  legislature  and 
the  people.  This  was  called  the  Charter  of  Privileges^  and  it 
remained  in  force  as  long  as  Pennsylvania  was  a  colony. 

The  "  Territories,"  or  Delaware.  —  Pennsylvania  had  no  front- 
age on  the  sea,  and  its  boundaries  were  disputed  by  the  neigh- 
boring colonies.^     To  secure  an  outlet  to  the  sea,  Penn  applied 

1  All  laws  were  to  be  proposed  by  the  governor  and  the  upper  house  ;  but  the 
lower  house  might  reject  any  of  them.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Assembly 
Penn  offered  a  series  of  laws  called  The  Great  Law.  These  provided  that 
all  religions  should  be  tolerated  ;  that  all  landholders  and  taxpayers  might  vote 
and  be  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Assembly  ;  that  every  child  of  twelve 
should  be  taught  some  useful  trade  ;  and  that  the  prisons  should  be  made  houses 
of  industry  and  education. 

2  Pennsylvania  extended  five  degrees  of  longitude  west  from  the  Delaware. 
The  south  boundary  was  to  be  "a  circle  drawn  at  twelve  miles'  distance  from 
Newcastle  northward  and  westward  unto  the  beginning  of  the  fortieth  degree 
of  northern  latitude,  and  then  by  a  straight  line  westward. "  This  was  an  impossi- 
ble line,  as  a  circle  so  drawn  would  meet  neither  the  thirty-ninth  nor  the  fortieth 
parallel.  Maryland,  moreover,  was  to  extend  "  unto  that  part  of  Delaware  Bay 
on  the  north  which  lieth  under  the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude." 

Penn  held  that  the  words  of  his  grant  "beginning  of  the  fortieth  degree  " 
meant  the  thirty-ninth  parallel.     The  Baltimores  denied  this  and  claimed  to  the 


THE   MIDDLE  COLONIES 


81 


to  the  Duke  of  York  for  a  grant  of  the  territory  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Delaware  River  to  its  mouth,  and  was  granted  what 
is  now  Delaware.  This  region  was 
also  included  in  Lord  Baltimore's 
grant  of  Maryland,  and  the  dispute 
over  it  between  the  two  proprietors 
was  not  settled  till  1732,  when  the 
present  boundary  was  agreed  upon. 
Penn  intended  to  add  Delaware  to 
Pennsylvania,  but  the  people  of  these 
"  territories,"  or  "  three  lower  coun- 
ties," objected,  and  in  1703  secured  a 
legislature  of  their  own,  though  they 
remained  under  the  governor  of 
Pennsylvania. 

The  Peopling  of  Pennsylvania.  — 
The  toleration  and  liberality  of  Penn 
proved  so  attractive  to  the  people  of 
the  Old  World  that  emigrants  came 
over  in  large  numbers.  They  came 
not  only  from  England  and  Wales, 
but  also  from  other  parts  of  Europe. 
In  later  times  thousands  of  Germans 
settled  in  the  middle  part  of  the  col- 
ony, and  many  Scotch-Irish  (people 
of  Scottish  descent  from  northern 
Ireland)  on  the  western  frontier  and  along  the  Maryland  border. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  great  migration  Pennsylvania  be- 
came one  of  the  most  populous  of  the  colonies.  It  had  many 
flourishing  towns,  of  which  Philadelphia  was  the  largest.    This 


Penn's  razor,  case,  and  hot 
water  tank. 

Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Historical  Society. 


fortieth.  The  dispute  was  finally  settled  by  a  compromise  line  which  was 
partly  located  (1763-67)  by  two  surveyors,  Mason  and  Dixon.  In  later  days  this 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  became  the  boundary  between  the  seaboard  free  and 
slave-holding  states.  The  north  boundary  of  Pennsylvania  was  to  be  "  the  be- 
ginning of  the  three  and  fortieth  degree  of  northern  latitude,"  which,  according 
to  Penn's  argument  in  the  Maryland  case,  meant  the  forty-second  parallel,  and 
on  this  New  York  insisted. 

MCM.  BRIEF — 6 


82 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


362S0- 


was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  genuine  English  town,  and  was  one 

of  the  chief  cities  in  English  America. 

Between  the  towns  lay  some  of  the  richest  farming  regions 

in  America.     The  Germans  especially  were  fine  farmers,  raised 

great  crops,  bred  fine  horses,  and  owned  farms  whose  size  was 

the  wonder  of  all 
travelers.  The  labor- 
ers were  generally  in- 
dentured servants  or 
redemptioners. 

Carolina.  —  When 
Charles  ^11  became 
king  in  1660,  there 
were  only  two  south- 
ern colonies,  Virginia 
and  Maryland.  Be- 
tween the  English 
settlements  in  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Spanish 
settlements  in  Flor- 
Carolina  by  the  grant  of  1665.  ^^^  ^a^g  ^  wide  stretch 

of  unoccupied  land,  which  in  1663  he  granted  for  a  new  colony 
called  Carolina  in  his  honor. ^ 

Two  groups  of  settlements  were  planted.  One  in  the  north,  / 
called  the  Albemarle  Colony,  was  of  people  from  Virginia  ;  the 
other,  in  the  south,  the  Carteret  Colony,  was  of  people  from 
England,  who  founded  Charleston  (1670).  John  Locke,  a 
'  famous  English  philosopher,  at  the  request  of  the  proprietors 
drew  up  a  form  of  government,^  but  it  was  opposed   by  the 

1  The  grant  extended  from  the  31st  to  the  36th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  South  Sea ;  it  was  given  to  eight  noblemen,  friends  of  the 
king.  In  1665  strips  were  added  on  the  north  and  on  the  south,  and  Carolina 
then  extended  from  the  parallel  of  29  degrees  to  that  of  36  degrees  30  minutes. 

2  This  plan,  the  Grand  Model,  as  it  was  called,  was  intended  to  intro- 
duce a  queer  sort  of  nobility  or  landed  aristocracy  into  America.  At  the  head 
of  the  state  was  to  be  a  "  palatine."  Below  him  in  rank  were  "  proprietaries," 
"landgraves,"  "  caciques,"  and  the  "leetmen  "  or  plain  people.  Read  Fiske's 
Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours^  Vol.  II,  pp.  271-276. 


THE   SOUTHERN  COLONIES  83 

colonists  and  never  went  into  effect.  Each  colony,  however, 
had  its  own  governor,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  proprietors  till 
1729,  when  the  proprietors  surrendered  their  rights  to  the 
king.  The  province  of  Carolina  was  then  formally  divided 
into  two  colonies  known  as  North  and  South  Carolina. 

Life  in  North  Carolina.  — The  p^ple  of  North  Carolina  lived 
on  small  farms  and  owned  few  slaves.  In  the  towns  were  a 
few  mechanics  and  storekeepers,  in  whose  hands  was  all  the 
commerce  of  the  colony.  They  bought  and  sold  everything, 
and  supplied  the  farms  and  small  plantations.  In  the  northern 
part  of  the  colony  tobacco  was  grown,  in  the  southern  part 
rice  and  indigo ;  and  in  all  parts  lumber,  tar,  pitch,  and  turpen- 
tine were  produced.  Herds  of  cattle  and  hogs  ran  wild  in  the 
woods,  bearing  their  owner's  brands,  to  alter  which  was  a 
crime. 

There  were  no  manufactures ;  all  supplies  were  imported 
from  England  or  the  other  colonies.  There  were  few  roads. 
There  were  no  towns,  but  little  villages  such  as  Wilmington, 
Newbern,  and  Edenton,  the  largest  of  whicli  did  not  have  a 
population  of  five  hundred  souls.  As  in  Virginia,  the  court- 
houses were  the  centers  of  social  life,  and  court  days  the  occa- 
sion of  social  amusements.  Education  was  scanty  and  poor, 
and  there  was  no  printing  press  in  the  colony  for  a  hundred 
years  after  its  first  settlement. 

Much  of  the  early  population  of  North  Carolina  consisted 
of  indented  servants,  who,  having  served  out  their  term  in 
Virginia,  emigrated  to  Carolina,  where  land  was  easier  to  get. 
Later  came  Germans  from  the  Rhine  country,  Scotch-Irish  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  and  (after  1745)  Scotchmen  from  the 
Highlands. 1 

South  Carolina.  —  In  South  Carolina,  also,  the  only  important 
occupation  was  planting  or  farming.  Rice,  introduced  about 
1694,  was  the  chief  product,  and  next  in  importance  was  indigo. 
The  plantations,  as  in  Virginia,  were  large  and  lay  along  the 
coast  and  the  banks  of  tJie  rivers,  from  which  the  crops  were 

1  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  II,  pp.  310-319. 


84  THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 

floated  to  Charleston,  where  the  planters  generally  lived.  At 
Charleston  the  crops  were  bought  by  merchants  who  shipped 
them  to  the  West  Indies  and  to  England,  whence  was  brought 
almost  every  manufactured  article  the  people  used.  Slaves 
were  almost  the  only  laborers,  and  formed  about  half  the 
population.      Bond  servants  were  nearly  unknown.      Charles- 


Charleston  in  early  times.     From  an  old  print. 

ton,  the  one  city,  was  well  laid  out  and  adorned  with  hand- 
some churches,  public  buildings,  and  fine  residences  of  rich 
merchants  and  planters. 

The  Pirates.  —  During  the  early  years  of  the  two  Carolinas 
the  coast  was  infested  with  pirates,  or,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, "  Brethren  of  the  Coast."  These  buccaneers  had 
formerly  made  their  home  in  the  West  Indies,  whence  they 
sallied  forth  to  prey  on  the  commerce  of  the  Spanish  colonies. 
About  the  time  Charleston  was  founded,  Spain  and  England 
wished  to  put  them  down.  But  when  the  pirates  were  driven 
from  their  ol'd  haunts,  they  found  new  ones  in  the  sounds  and 
harbors  of  Carolina,  and  preyed  on  the  commerce  of  Charleston 
till  the  planters  turned  against  them  and  drove  them  off.^ 

Georgia  Chartered.  —  The  thirteenth  and  last  of  the  English 
colonies  in  North  America  was  chartered  in  1732.  At  that 
time  and  long  afterward,  it  was  the  custom  in  England  and 
the  colonies  to  imprison  people  for  debt,  and  keep  them  in 
jail  for  life  or  until  the  debt  was  paid.  The  sufferings  of  these 
people  greatly  interested  James  Oglethorpe,  a  gallant  English 

1  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  II,  pp.  361-369. 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 


85 


soldier,  and  led  him  to  attempt  something  for  their  relief.  His 
plan  was  to  have  them  released,  provided  they  would  emigrate 
to  America.  Others  aided  him,  and  in  1732  a  company  was 
incorporated  and  given  the  land  between  the  Savannah  and 
Altamaha  rivers  from  their  mouths  to  their  sources,  and  thence 
across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific.  The  new  colony  was  called 
Georgia,  in  honor  of  King  George  II. 

The  site  of  the  new  colony  was  chosen  in  order  that  Georgia 
might  occupy  and  hold  some  disputed  territory,^  and  serve  as 
a  "  buffer  colony  "  to  protect  Charleston  from  attacks  by  the 
Spaniards  and  the  Indians. 

The  Settlement  of  Georgia.— In  1732  Ogle- 
thorpe with  one  hundred  and  thirty  colonists 
sailed  for  Charleston,  and  after  a  short  stay 
started  south  and  founded  Savannah  (1733). 
The  colony  was  not  settled  entirely  by  re- 
leased English  debtors.  To  it  in  time  came 
people  from  New  England  and  the  distressed 
of  many  lands,  including  Italians,  Germans, 
and  Scottish  Highlanders.  Oglethorpe's  com- 
pany controlled  Georgia  twenty  years  ;  but 
the  colonists  chafed  under  its  rule,  so  that 
the  company  finally  disbanded  and  gave  the 
province  back  to  the  king  (1752). 

Under  the  proprietors  the  people  were  required  to  manufac- 
ture silk,  plant  vineyards,  and  produce  oil.     But  the  prosperity 


Scottish  Highlander. 


1  Ever  since  the  early  voyages  of  discovery  Spain  had  claimed  the  whole  of 
North  America,  and  all  of  South  America  west  of  the  Line  of  Demarcation. 
But  in  1670  Spain,  by  treaty,  acknowledged  the  right  of  England  to  the  terri- 
tory she  then  possessed  in  North  America.  No  boundaries  were  mentioned,  so 
the  region  between  St.  Augustine  and  the  Savannah  River  was  left  to  be  con- 
tended for  in  the  future.  p]ngland,  in  the  charter  to  the  proprietors  of 
Carolina  (1665),  asserted,  her  claim  to  the  coast  as  far  south  as  29°.  But  this 
was  absurd  ;  for  the  parallel  of  29°  was  south  of  St.  Augustine,  where  Spain 
for  a  hundred  years  had  maintained  a  strong  fort  and  settlement.  The  posses- 
sions of  England  really  stopped  at  the  Savannah  River,  and  sixty-two  years 
passed  after  the  treaty  with  Spain  (1670)  before  any  colony  was  planted  south 
of  that  river. 


86 


THE  ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA 


of  Georgia  began  under  the  royal  government,  when  the  colony 
settled  down  to  the  production  of  rice,  lumber,  and  indigo. 
Importation  of  slaves  was  forbidden  by  the  proprietors,  but 
under  the  royal  government  it  was  allowed.  The  towns  were 
small,  for  almost  everybody  lived  on  a  small  farm  or  planta- 
tion. 

SUMMARY 


1.  While  the  English  were  planting  the  Jamestown  colony^  the  Dutch 
under  Hudson  explored  the  Hudson  River  (1609),  and  a  few  years  later  the 
Dutchmen  May  and  Block  explored  also  Delaware  Bay  and  the  Connecticut 
River. 

2.  The  Dutch  fur  trade  was  profitable,  and  in  1621  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company  was  placed  in  control  of  New  Netherland. 

3.  Settlements  were  soon  attempted  and  patroonships  created ;  but  the 
chief  industry  of  New  Netherland  was  the  fur  trade. 

4.  In  1638  a  Swedish  colony,  called  New  Sweden,  was  planted  on  the 
Delaware;  but  it  was  seized  by  the  Dutch  (1655). 

5.  The  English  by  this  time  had  begun  to  settle  in  New  England. 
This  led  to  disputes,  and  in  1664  New  Netherland  was  seized  by  the  Eng- 
lish, and  became  a  possession  of  the  Duke  of  York,  brother  of  King 
Charles  II. 

6.  Most  of  the  province  was  called  New  York  ;  but  part  of  it  was  cut 
off  and  given  to  two  noblemen,  and  became  the  province  of  New  Jersey. 

7.  In  1663  and  1665  Charles  II  made  some  of  his  friends  proprietors 
of  Carolina,  a  province  later  divided  into  North  and  South  Carolina. 

8.  In  1681  Pennsylvania  was  granted  to  William  Penn  as  a  proprietary 
colony. 

9.  In  order  to  obtain  the  right  of  ac- 
cess to  the  sea,  Penn  secured  from  the  Duke 
of  York  what  is  now  Delaware. 

10.  The  last  of  the  colonies  was  Georgia, 
chartered  in  1732. 

11.  Education  scanty  and  poor.  No 
printing  presses  for  one  hundred  years  after 
first  settlement. 


Pounding:  corn. 


CHAPTER  VII 


HOW  THE   COLONIES  WERE   GOVERNED 


3 


Groups  of  Colonies.  —  It  has  long  been  customary  to  group 
the  colonies  in  two  ways  —  according  to  their  geographical 
location,  and  according  to  their  form  of  government. 

Geographically  considered,  there  were  three  groups  :  (1)  the 
Eastern  Colonies,  or  New  England  —  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts (including  Plymouth  and  Maine),  Rhode  Island,  and 
Connecticut ;  (2)  the  Middle  Colonies  —  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware  ;  and  (3)  the  Southern 
Colonies  —  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia.     (Map,  p.  134.) 

Politically  considered,  there  were  three 
groups  also  —  the  charter,  the  royal,  and 
the  proprietary.  (1)  The  charter  colonies 
were  those  whose  organization  was  described 
in  a  charter;  namely,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  Rhode  Island.  (2)  The  royal 
colonies  were  under  the  immediate  authority  of 
the  king  and  subject  to  his  will  and  pleasure 
—  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia.^  (3)  In  the  proprietary  colonies, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  authority  was  vested 
in  a  proprietor  or  proprietaries,  who  owned  the  land,  appointed 
the  governors,  and  established  the  legislatures. 

The  First  Navigation  Act.  —  It  was  from  the  king  that  the 
land  grants,  the  charters,  and  the  powers  of  government  were 

1  New  Hampshire  after  1679,  New  York  after  1685  (when  the  Duke  of  York 
became  king),  New  Jersey  after  1702,  Virginia  after  1624,  North  and  South 
Carolina  after  1729.  Georgia  after  1752. 

87 


Colonial  chair. 

In  the  possession  of  the 
Concord  Antiquarian 
Society. 


88  THE  ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA 

obtained,  and  it  was  to  him  that  the  colonists  owed  allegiance. 
Not  till  the  passage  of  the  Navigation  Acts  did  Parliament 
concern  itself  with  the  colonies. 

The  first  of  these  acts,  the  ordinance  of  1651,  was  intended 
to  cut  off    the  trade  of    Holland  with  the  colonies.     It  pro- 
vided that  none  but  English  or  colonial  ships  could  trade  be- 
tween England  and  her  colonies,  or  trade  along  the  coast  from 
port  to  port,  or  engage  in  the  foreign  trade  of  the  plantations. 
The  Second  Navigation  Act  was  passed  in  1660.     It  provided 
(1)  that  no  goods  should   be  imported  or   exported   save   in 
'  English  or  colonial  ships,  and  (2)  that  certain  goods  ^  should 
^    not  be  sent  from  the  colonies  anywhere  except  to  an  English 
*^'  port.     A  third  act,  passed  in  1663,  required  all  European  goods 
^  destined  for  the  colonies  to  be  first  landed  in  England.     The 
purpose  of  these  acts  was  to  favor  English  merchants. 

The  Lords  of  Trade.  —  That  the  king  in  person  should  attend 
to  all  the  trade  affairs  of  his  colonies  was  impossible.     From  a 
very  early  time,  therefore,  the  management  of  trade  matters 
was   intrusted  to  a  committee    appointed  by  the  king,  or  by 
Parliament   during    the    Civil   War   and  the    Commonwealth. 
1    After  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  (in  1660)  this  body  was 
known  first  as  the  Committee  for  Foreign  Plantations,  then  as 
\  the  Lords  of  Trade,  and  finally  (after  1696)  as  the  Lords  of 
•y  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Plantations.     It  was  their  duty  to  cor- 
respond with  the  governors,  make  recommendations,  enforce 
the  Navigation  Acts,  examine  all  colonial  laws  and  advise  the 
king  as  to  which  he  should  veto  or  disallow,  write  the  king's 
proclamations,  listen  to  complaints  of   merchants,  —  in  short, 
x^?  attend  to  everything  concerning  the  trade  and  government  of 
the  colonies. 

The  Colonial  Governor.  —  The  most  important  colonial  official 
was  the  governor.  In  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  the  gov- 
ernor was  elected   by  the  people  ;    in  the  royal  colonies  and 

1  These  goods  were  products  of  the  colonies  and  were  named  in  the  act  — 
such  as  tobacco,  sugar,  indigo,  and  furs.  There  was  a  long  list  of  such  "  enumer- 
ated goods,"  as  they  were  called. 


HOW  THE  COLONIES  WERE  GOVERNED 


89 


Colonial  parlor  (restoration). 

in  Massachusetts  (after  1684)  he  was  appointed  by  the  king, 
and  in  the  proprietary  colonies  by  the  proprietor  with  the 
approval  of  the  king.  Each  governor  appointed  by  the  king 
recommended  legislation  to  the  assemblies,  informed  the  king 
as  to  the  condition  of  the  colony,  sent  home  copies  of  the 
laws,  and  by  his  veto  prevented  the  passage  of  laws  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  the  crown.  From  time  to  time  he  received 
instructions  as  to  what  the  king  wished  done.  He  was  com- 
mander of  the  militia,  and  could  assemble,  prorogue  (adjourn), 
and  dismiss  the  legislature  of  the  colony. 

The  Council.  —  Associated  with  the  governor  in  every  colony 
was  a  Council  of  from  three  to  twenty-eight  men  ^  who  acted  as 
a  board  of  advisers  to  the  governor,  usually  served  as  the  upper 
house  of  the  legislature,  and  sometimes  acted  as  the  highest  or 
supreme  court  of  the  colony. 

1  In  the  royal  colonies  they  were  appointed  by  the  crown  ;  in  Massachusetts, 
by  the  General  Court ;  in  the  proprietary  colonies,  by  the  proprietor. 


90 


THE  ENGLISH  IN   AMERICA 


The  Lower  House  of  the  legislature,  or  the  Assembly,  — 
called  by  different  names  in  some  colonies,  as  House  of  Dele- 
gates, or  House  of  Commons,  —  was  chosen  by  such  of  the  peo- 
ple as  could  vote.  With  the  governor  and  Council  it  made  the 
laws,^  levied  the  taxes,  and  appointed  certain  officers  ;  but  (ex- 
cept in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut)  the  laws  could  be  vetoed 
by  the  governor,  or  disallowed  by  the  king  or  the  proprietor. 

There  were  many  disputes  between  governor  and  Assembly, 
each  trying  to  gain  more  power  and  influence  in  the  govern- 
ment. If  the  governor  vetoed  many  laws,  the  Assembly  might 
refuse  to  vote  him  any  salary.  If  the  Assembly  would  not 
levy  taxes  and  pass  laws  as  requested  by  the  governor,  he  might 
dismiss  it  and  call  for  the  election  of  a  new  one. 

The  Laws.  —  Many  of  the  laws  of  colonial  times  seem  to  us 
cruel  and  severe.  A  large  number  of  crimes  were  then  punish- 
able with  death.  For 
less  serious  offenses  men 
and  women  had  letters 
branded  on  their  fore- 
heads or  cheeks  or  hands, 
or  sewed  on  their  outer 
garments  in  plain  sight ; 
or  were  flogged  through 
the  streets,  ducked,  stood 
under  the  gallows,  stood 

Colonial  pewter  dishes.  .^^  ^^^   p-^^^^.^^    ^^  p^^  ^^ 

the  stocks.     In  New  England  it  was  an  offense  to  travel  or 
\)  cook  food  or  walk  about  the  town  on  the  Sabbath  day,  or  to 
buy  any  cloth  with  lace  on  it. 


1  In  Massachusetts  as  early  as  1634  the  General  Court  consisted  of  the  gov- 
ernor, the  assistants,  and  two  deputies  from  each  town.  During  ten  years 
they  all  met  in  one  room  ;  but  a  quarrel  between  the  assistants  and  the  deputies 
led  to  their  meeting  as  separate  bodies.  For  an  account  of  this  curious  quar- 
rel see  Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  England,  pp.  106-108.  In  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island  also  the  towns  elected  deputies.  Outside  of  New  England  the 
delegates  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  legislature  were  usually  elected  from  coun- 
ties, but  sometimes  from  important  cities  or  towns. 


HOW  THE  COLONIES  WERE  GOVERNED  91 

Local  Government  was  of  three  systems  :  the  town  (town- 
ship) in  New  England ;  the  county  in  the  Southern  Colonies ; 
and  in  the  Middle  Colonies  a  mixture  of  both. 

Town  Meeting. — The  affairs  of  a  New  England  town  were 
regulated  at  town  meeting,  to  which  from  time  to  time  the  free- 
men were  "  warned,"  or  summoned,  by  the  constable.  To  be  a 
freeman  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  a  man  had  to  own  a 
certain  amount  of  property  and  be  a  member  of  a  recognized 
church.  If  a  newcomer,  he  had  to  be  formally  admitted  to 
freemanship  at  a  town  meeting.  These  meetings  were  pre- 
sided over  by  a  moderator  chosen  for  the  occasion,  and  at  them 
taxes  were  levied,  laws  enacted,  and  once  a  year  officers  were 
elected.!  The  principal  town  officers  were  the  selectmen  who 
managed  the  town's  affairs  between  town  meetings,  the  con- 
stables, overseers  of  the  poor,  assessors,  the  town  clerk,  and  the 
treasurer. 

The  County.  —  In  the  South,  where  plantations  were  numer- 
ous and  where  there  were  no  towns  of  the  New  England  kind, 
county  government  prevailed.     The  officers  were  appointed  by  i 
the  royal  governor,  formed  a  board  called  the  court  of  quarter  |/ 
sessions,  and  levied  local  taxes,  made  local  laws,  and  as  a  court 
administered  justice. 

In  the  Middle  Colonies  there  were  both  town  and  county 
governments.  In  New  York,  each  town  (after  1703)  elected  a 
supervisor,  and  county  affairs  were  managed  by  a  board  con- 
sisting of  the  supervisors  of  all  the  towns  in  the  county.  In 
Pennsylvania  the  county  officers  were  elected  by  the  voters  of 
the  whole  county. 

1  The  first  government  of  Plymouth  Colony  was  practically  a  town  meeting. 
The  first  town  to  set  up  a  local  government  in  Massachusetts  was  Dorchester 
(1633).  Thus  started,  the  system  spread  over  all  New  England.  Nothing  was 
too  petty  to  be  acted  on  by  the  town  meeting.  For  example,  "  It  is  ordered 
that  all  dogs,  for  the  space  of  three  weeks  after  the  publishing  hereof,  shall  have 
one  leg  tied  up.  .  .  If  a  man  refuse  to  tye  up  his  dogs  leg  and  he  be  found 
scraping  up  fish  [used  for  fertilizer]  in  the  corn  field,  the  owner  shall  pay  12s., 
besides  whatever  damage  the  dog  doth."  The  proceedings  of  several  town 
meetings  at  Providence  are  given  in  Hart's  American  History  told  by  Contem- 
poraries, Vol.  II,  pp.  214-219. 


92  THE   ENGLISH  IN   AMERICA 

No  Representation  in  Parliament.  —  The  colonies  sent  no 
representatives  to  Parliament.  In  certain  matters  that  body 
legislated  for  the  colonies,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Navigation  Acts. 
But  unless  expressly  stated  in  the  act,  no  law  of  Parliament 
applied  to  the  colonies.  Having  no  representation  in  Parlia- 
ment, the  colonies  often  sent  special  agents  to  London  to  look 
after  their  affairs,  and  in  later  times  kept  agents  there  regularly, 
one  man  acting  for  several  colonies.^ 

A  Union  of  the  Colonies.  —  The  idea  of  uniting  the  colo- 
nies for  purposes  of  general  welfare  and  common  defense  was 
proposed  very  early  in  their  history.  In  1697  Penn  suggested 
V  a  congress  of  delegates  from  each  colony.  A  little  later  Robert 
Livingston  of  New  York  urged  the  grouping  of  the  colonies 
into  three  provinces,  from  each  of  which  delegates  should  be 
sent  to  Albany  to  consider  measures  for  defense.  As  yet,  how- 
ever, the  colonies  were  not  ready  for  anything  of  this  sort. 

The  Charters  Attacked.  —  The  king,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
attempted  to  unite  some  of  the  colonies  in  a  very  different 
way  —  by  destroying  the  charters  of  the  northern  colonies  and 
putting  them  under  one  governor.  The  first  attack  was  made 
by  King  Charles  II,  on  Massachusetts,  and  after  a  long  struggle 
her  charter  (p.  58)  was  taken  away  by  the  English  courts  in 
1684.  The  charters  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  were 
next  annulled,  and  King  James  II  ^  sent  over  Edmund  Andros 
as  governor  of  New  England. 

Connecticut  saves  her  Charter. — Andros  reached  Boston  in 
1686,  and  assumed  the  government  of  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire. 3  He  next  ordered  Plymouth,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Connecticut  to  submit  and  accept  annexation.  Plymouth  and 
Rhode  Island  did  so,  but  Connecticut  resisted.  Andros  there- 
fore came  to  Hartford  (1687),  dissolved  the  colonial  govern- 

1  Penn's  charter  required  him  to  keep  an  agent  in  or  near  London. 

2  Charles  II  died  in  1685  and  was  succeeded  by  liis  brother,  the  Duke  of  York 
(proprietor  of  the  colony  of  New  York),  who  reigned  as  James  II. 

^  New  Hampshire,  which  had  been  annexed  by  Massachusetts  in  1641,  was 
made  a  separate  province  in  1679 ;  but  during  the  governorship  of  Andros  it 
was  again  annexed, 


HOW  THE  COLONIES   WERE  GOVERNED  93 

ment,  and  demanded  the  Connecticut  charter.  Tradition  says 
that  the  Assembly  met  him,  and  debated  the  question  till  dusk  ; 
candles  were  then  lighted  and  the  charter  brought  in  and  laid 
on  the  table  ;  this  done,  the  candles  were  suddenly  blown  out, 
and  when  they  were  relighted,  the  charter  could  not  be  found  ; 
Captain  Wadsworth  of  Hartford  had  carried  it  off  and  hidden 
it  in  an  oak  tree  thereafter  known  as  the  Charter  Oak. 

But  Andros  ruled  Connecticut,  and  in  the  following  year 
New  York  and  East  and  West  Jersey  also  were  placed  under  his 
authority.  Andros  thus  became  ruler  of  all  the  provinces  lying 
north  and  east  of  the  Delaware  River.^  His  rule  was  tyranni- 
cal :  he  abolished  the  legislatures,  and  with  the  aid  of  appointed 
councilmen  he  made  laws  and  levied  taxes  as  he  pleased. 

The  English  Revolution  of  1689.— In  1689  King  James  II 
was  driven  from  his  throne,  William  and  Mary  became  king 
and  queen  of  England,  and  war  broke  out  with  France.     News 
of  these  events  caused  an  upheaval  in  the  colonies.     The  people 
in  Boston  promptly  seized  Andros  and  put  him  in  jail  ;    Con-  ■ 
necticut  and  Rhode  Island  resumed  their  charter  governments  ; 
the  Protestants  in  Maryland  overthrew  the  government  of  the  i 
proprietor  and  set  up  a  new  one  in  the  name  of  William  and  1 
Mary  2;  and  in  New  York  Leisler  raised  a  rebellion. 

Massachusetts  Rechartered. — Massachusetts  sent  agents  to 
London  to  ask  for  the  restoration  of  her  old  charter  ;    but  in-  . 
stead  William  granted  a  new  charter  in  1691,  which  provided  ^ 
that  the  governor  should  be  appointed  by  the  king.     Plymouth 
and  Maine  were  united  with  Massachusetts,  but  New  Hamp- 
shire was  made  a  separate  royal  colony.     The  charters  of  Rhode 

1  These  were  Massachusetts  (including  Maine),  New  Hampshire,  Plymouth, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  East  Jersey,  and  West  Jersey  —  eight 
in  all.  The  only  other  colonies  then  in  existence  were  Pennsylvania  (including 
Delaware),  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Carolina.  For  an  account  of  the  attack  on 
the  New  England  charters,  read  Fiske's  Beginnings  of  Neio  England,  pp.  265- 
268. 

2  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  England  was  established  in  the  colony 
(1692),  and  sharp  laws  were  made  against  Catholics.  From  1691  till  1715 
Maryland  was  governed  as  a  royal  province  ;  but  then  it  was  given  back  to  the 
fifth  Lord  Baltimore,  who  was  a  Protestant. 


94 


THE   ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


The  fort  at  New  York. 


Island  and  Connecticut  were  confirmed,  so  that  they  continued 
to  elect  their  own  governors. 

Leisler's  Rebellion. — Andros  had  ruled  Kew  York  through 
a  deputy  named  Nicholson,  who  tried  to  remain  in  control.  A 
rich  merchant  named  Jacob  Leisler  denied  the  right  of  Nichol- 
son to  act,  refused  to  pay  duty  on  some  wine  he  had  imported, 

and,  aided  by  the  people, 
seized  the  fort  and  set 
up  a  temporary  govern- 
ment. A  convention  was 
then  called,  a  committee 
of  safety  appointed,  and 
Leisler  was  made  com- 
mander in  chief.  Later 
he  assumed  the  office 
of  lieutenant  governor. 
When  King  William 
heard  of  these  things,  he  appointed  a  new  governor,  and  early 
in  1691  three  ships  with  some  soldiers  reached  New  Yo^k. 
Leisler  at  first  refused  to  give  up  the  fort ;  but  was  soon  forced 
to  surrender,  and  was  finally  hanged  for  rebellion.  ^ 

Bacon's  Rebellion. — Massachusetts  and  New  York  were  not 
the  first  colonies  in  which  bad  government  led  to  uprisings 
•  against  a  royal  governor.  In  Virginia,  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  II,  the  rule  of  Governor  Berkeley  was  selfish  and 
\  tyrannical.  In  1676  the  planters  on  the  frontier  asked  for 
protection  against  Indian  attacks,  but  the  governor,  who  was 
engaged  in  Indian  trade,  refused  to  send  soldiers ;  and  when 
Nathaniel  Bacon  led  a  force  of  planters  against  the  Indians, 
Berkeley  declared  him  a  rebel,  raised  a  force  of  men,  and 
marched  after  him.  While  Berkeley  was  away,  the  people  in 
Jamestown  rose  and  demanded  a  new  Assembly  and  certain  re- 
forms.    Berkeley  yielded  to  the  demands,  and  was  also  com- 

1  Read  Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies,  Vol.  II,  pp.  199-208.  In 
Leisler'' s  Times,  by  Elbridge  Brooks,  and  The  Begum'' s  Daughter,  by  Edwin 
L.  Bynner,  are  two  interesting  stories  based  on  the  events  of  Leisler's  time. 


HOW  THE  COLONIES  WERE   GOVERNED  95 

pelled  to  give  Bacon  a  commission  to  fight  the  Indians ;  but 
when  Bacon  was  well  on  his  way,  Berkeley  again  proclaimed 
him  a  rebel,  and  fled  from  Jamestown. 

Bacon,  supported  by  most  of  the  people,  now  seized  the 
government  and  sent  a  force  to  capture  Berkeley.  The  gov- 
ernor and  his  followers  defeated  this  force  and  occupied 
Jamestown.  Bacon,  who  was  again  on  the  frontier,  returned, 
drove  Berkeley  away,  burned  Jamestown  lest  it  should  be 
again  occupied,  and  a  month  later  died.  The  popular  uprising 
then  subsided  rapidly,  and  when  the  king's  forces  arrived 
(1677)  to  restore  order,  Berkeley  was  in  control.  ^ 

Growth  of  Population. — Duxing  the  century  which  followed 
the  restoration  of  monarchy  (1660)  the  colonies  grew  not  only 
in  number  but  also  in  population  and  in  wealth.  In  1660  there 
were  probably  200,000  people  in  the  English  colonies;  by 
1760  there  were  nearly  2,000,000  — .all  east  of  the  Appa- 
lachian watershed.  The  three  great  centers  were  Virginia, 
Massachusetts,  and  Pennsylvania,.  Sparse  as  the  population 
seems  to  us,  the  great  march  across  the  continent  had  begun. ^ 

Cities  and  Towns. — The  century  (1660-1760)  had  seen  the 
rise  of  but  one  real  city  in  the  South — Charleston.  Annapolis 
was  a  village,  Baltimore  a  hamlet  of  a  hundred  souls,  Williams- 
burg and  Norfolk  were  but  towns,  and  no  place  in  North  Caro- 

1  Berkeley  put  so  many  men  to  death  for  the  part  they  bore  in  the  rebellion 
that  King  Charles  said,  "The  old  fool  has  put  to  death  more  people  in  that 
naked  country  than  I  did  here  for  the  murder  of  my  father."  Berkeley  was 
recalled.  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  II,  pp.  44-95 ; 
or  the  Century  Magazine  for  July,  1890. 

2  In  New  Hampshire  settlers  had  moved  up  the  valley  of  the  Merrimac  to 
Concord.  In  Massachusetts  they  had  crossed  the  Connecticut  River  and  were 
well  on  toward  the  New  York  border  (map,  p.  59).  In  NewYotJc  settlement 
was  still  confined  to  Long  Island,  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  and  a  few  German 
settlements  in  the  Mohawk  valley.  In  Pennsylvania  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish 
had  pressed  into  the  Susquehanna  valley;  Reading  had  been  founded  on  the 
upper  Schuylkill,  and  Bethlehem  in  the  valley  of  the  Lehigh  (map,  p.  78).  In 
Virginia  population  had  gone  westward  up  the  York,  the  Rappahannock, 
and  the  James  rivers  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge ;  and  Germans  and  Scotch- 
Irish  from  Pennsylvania  had  entered  the  Great  Valley  (map,  p.  60).  In  North 
Carolina  and  South  Carolina  Germans,  Swiss,  Welsh,  and  Scotch-Irish  were 
likewise  moving  toward  the  mountains. 


96 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 


Una  was  more  than  a  country  village.  Philadelphia,  which  did 
not  exist  in  1660,  had  become  a  place  of  16,000  people  in  1760, 
neat,  well-built,  and  prosperous.  Near  by  was  German  town, 
and  further  west  Lancaster,  the  largest  inland  town  in  all  the 
colonies.  Between  Philadelphia  and  New  York  there  were  no 
places  larger  than  small  villages.  New  York  had  a  population 
of  some  12,000  souls;  Boston,  the  chief  city  in  the  colonies, 
some  20,000;  and  in  New  England  were  several  other  towns  of 
importance. 

Life  in  the  Cities.  —  In  the  cities  and  large  towns  from 
Boston  to  Charleston   in  1760  were  many  fine  houses.     Every 

family  of  wealth  had 
costly  furniture,  plenty 
of  silver,  china,  glass,  and 
tapestry,  and  every  com- 
fort that  money  could 
then  buy.  The  men  wore 
broadcloth,  lace  ruffles, 
silk  stockings,  and  silver 
shoe  buckles,  powdered 
their  hair,  and  carried 
swords.  The  women 
dressed  more  elaborately 
in  silks  and  brocades, 
and  wore  towering  head- 
dresses  and  ostrich 
plumes.  Shopkeepers  wore  homespun,  workingmen  and  me- 
chanics leather  aprons. 

Things  not  in  Use  in  i66o.  — Should  we  make  a  list  of  what 
are  to  us  the  everyday  conveniences  of  life  and  strike  from  the 
list  the  things  not  known  in  1660,  very  few  would  remain.  A 
business  man  in  one  of  our  large  cities,  let  us  suppose,  sets  off 
for  his  place  of  business  on  a  rainy  day.  He  puts  on  a  pair  of 
rubbers,  takes  an  umbrella,  buys  a  morning  newspaper,  boards  a 
trolley  car,  and  when  his  place  of  business  is  reached,  is  carried 
by  an  elevator  to  his  office  floor,  and  enters  a  steam-heated. 


Colonial  sideboard,  with  knife  cases,  candlestick 
pitchers,  and  decanter. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society. 


HOW  THE  COLONIES  WERE  GOVERNED 


97 


Colonial  foot  stove. 


electric-lighted  room.  In  1G60  and  for  many  years  after, 
there  was  not  in  any  of  the  colonies  a  pair  of  rubbers,  an  um- 
brella, a  trolley  car,  a  morning  news- 
paper, an  elevator,  a  steam-heated 
room,^  an  electric  light. 

The  man  of  business  sits  down  in  a 
revolving  chair  before  a  roUtop  desk. 
In  front  of  him  are  steel  pens,  India 
rubber  eraser,  blotting  paper,  rubber 
bands,  a  telephone.  He  takes  up  a 
bundle  of  typewritten  letters,  dictates  answers  to  a  stenographer, 
sends  a  telegram  to  some  one  a  thousand  miles  away,  and  before 
returning  home  has  received  an  answer.     In  1660  there  was  not 

in  all  the  land  a  stenographer, 
or  any  of  the  articles  men- 
tioned ;  no  telephone,  no  tele- 
graph, not  even  a  post  office. 
Travel  and  Communica- 
tion. —  If  business  calls  him 
from  home,  he  travels  in 
comfort  in  a  steamboat  or  a 
railway  car,  and  goes  farther 
in  one  hour  than  in  1660  he 
could  have  gone  in  two  days, 
for  at  that  time  there  was  not 
a  steamboat,  nor  a  railroad, 
nor  even  a  stagecoach,  in 
North  America.  Men  went 
from  one  colony  to  another 
by  sailing  vessel ;  overland 
they  traveled  on  horseback ;  and  if  a  wife  went  with  her  hus- 
band, she  rode  behind  him  on  a  pillion.  The  produce  of  the 
farms  was  drawn  to  the  village  market  by  ox  teams. 

1  Houses  were  warmed  by  means  of  open  fireplaces.  Churches  were  not 
warmed,  even  in  the  coldest  days  of  winter.  People  would  bring  foot  stoves 
with  them,  and  men  would  sit  with  their  hats,  greatcoats,  and  mittens  on. 


Traveling  in  i66o. 


McM.    BRIEF- 


98  THE   ENGLISH   IN   AMERICA  ■ 

Newspapers  and  Printing. — In  1660  no  newspaper  or  maga- 
zine of  any  sort  was  published  in  the  colonies.  The  first  print- 
ing press  in  English  America  was  set  up  at  Cambridge  in  1630,  V^ 
and  was  long  the  only  one.  The  first  newspaper  in  our  country 
was  the  Boston  Neivs  Letter^  printed  in  1701,  and  there  was 
^-  none  in  Pennsylvania  till  1719,  and  none  south  of  the  Potomac 
till  1732. 

Liberty  of  the  Press  did  not  exist.  No  book,  pamphlet,  or 
almanac  could  be  printed  without  permission.  In  1685,  when 
a  printer  in  Philadelphia  printed  something  in  his  almanac  which 
displeased  the  Council,  he  was  forced  to  blot  it  out.  Another 
Philadephia  printer,  Bradford,  offended  the  Quakers  by  putting 
into  his  almanac  something  "too  liglit  and  airy  for  one  that  is  a 
Christian,"  whereupon  the  almanac  was  suppressed;  and  for 
later  offenses  Bradford  was  thrown  into  jail  and  so  harshly 
treated  that  he  left  the  colony. 

In  New  York  (1725)  Bradford  started  the  first  newspaper  in 
that  colony.  One  of  his  old  apprentices,  John  Peter  Zenger, 
^/  started  the  second  (1733),  and  soon  called  down  the  wrath  of 
the  governor  because  of  some  sharp  attacks  on  his  conduct. 
Copies  of  the  newspaper  were  burned  before  the  pillory,  Zenger 
wa,s  put  in  jail,  and  what  began  as  a  trial  for  libel  ended  in  a 
great  struggle  for  liberty  of  the  press;  Zenger's  acquittal  was 
the  cause  of  great  public  rejoicings. ^ 

Changes  between  i66o  and  1760. — By  1760  the  conditions 
of  life  in  the  colonies  had  changed  for  the  better  in  many 
respects.  Stagecoaches  had  come  in,  and  a  line  ran  regularly 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Post  offices  had  been 
established.  There  were  printing  presses  and  newspapers  in 
most  of  the  colonies,  there  were  public  subscription  libraries  in 
Charleston  and  Philadelphia,  and  six  colleges  scattered  over  the 
colonies  from  Virginia  to  Massachusetts. 

Education.  —  What  we  know  as  the  public  school  system, 
however,  did  not  yet  exist.     Children  generally  attended  pri- 
vate schools  kept  by   wandering  teachers  who  were  boarded 
1  Read  Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies^  Vol.  II,  pp.  248-257. 


HOW  THE  COLONIES   WERE   GOVERNED 


99 


around  among  the  farmers  or  village  folk;  and  learned  only  to 
read,  write,  and  cipher.  But  a  few  went  to  the  Latin  school  or 
to  college,  for  which  they  were  often  prepared  by  clergymen. 

Sports  and  Pastimes.  —  Amusements  in  colonial  days  varied 
somewhat  with  the  section  of  the  country  and  the  character  of  the 
people  who  had  settled  it.  Corn  huskings,  quilting  parties,  and 
spinning  bees  were  common  in  many  colonies.  A  house  raising 
or  a  log-rolling  (a  piling  bee)  was  a  great  occasion  for  frolic. 
Picnics,  tea  parties,  and  dances  were  common  everywhere;  the 
men  often  competed  in  foot  races,  wrestling  matches,  and  shoot- 
ing at  a  mark.  In  New  England  the  great  day  for  such  sports 
was  training  day,  which  came  four  times  a  year,  when  young 
and  old  gathered  on  the  village  green  to  see  the  militia  com- 
pany drill. 

In  New  York  there  were  also  fishing  parties  and  tavern  par- 
ties, and  much  skating  and  coasting,  horse  racing,  bull  baiting, 
bowling  on  the  greens,  and  in 
New  York  city  balls,  concerts, 
and  private  theatricals.  In 
Pennsylvania  vendues  (auc- 
tions), fairs,  and  cider  press- 
ing (besides  husking  bees  and 
house  raisings)  were  occa- 
sions for  social  gatherings 
and  dances.  South  of  the  Po- 
tomac horse  racing,  fox  hunt- 
ing, cock  fighting,  and  cudgel- 
ing were  common  sports.  At 
the  fairs  there  were  sack  and 
hogshead  races,  bull  baiting, 
barbecues,  and  dancing.  There 
was  a  theater  at  Williamsburg 
and  another  in  Charleston. 

Manufactures  and  Commerce.  —  Little  manufacturing  was 
done  in  1760,  save  for  the  household.  A  few  branches  of  manu- 
factures— woolen  goods,  felt  hats,  steel — which  seemed  likely 


A  mill  of  1691. 

The  power  was  furnished  by  the  great  undershot 
water  wheel. 


100  THE  ENGLISH  IN  AMERICA 

to  flourish  in  the  colonies  were  checked  by  acts  of  Parliament, 
lest  they  should  compete  with  industries  in  England.  But 
shipbuilding  was  not  molested,  and  in  New  England  and 
Pennsylvania  many  ships  were  built  and  sold. 

Land  commerce  in  1760  was  still  confined  almost  entirely 
to  the  Indian  fur  trade.  In  sea-going  commerce  New  England 
led,  her  vessels  trading  not  only  with  Great  Britain  and  the 
West  Indies,  but  carrying  on  most  of  the  coasting  trade.  In 
general  the  Navigation  Acts  were  obeyed ;  but  the  Molasses 
Act  (1733),  which  levied  a  heavy  duty  on  sugar  or  molasses 
from  a  foreign  colony,  was  boldly  evaded.  The  law  required 
that  all  European  goods  must  come  by  way  of  England  ;  but 
this  too  was  evaded,  and  smuggling  of  European  goods  was 
very  common.  Tobacco  from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina 
often  found  its  way  in  New  England  ships  to  forbidden  ports. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  English  colonies  were  of  three  sorts  —  charter,  royal,  and  pro- 
prietary ;  but  before  1660  each  managed  its  affairs  much  as  it  pleased. 

2.  Charles  II  and  later  kings  tried  to  rule  the  colonies  for  the  benefit 
of  the  crown  and  of  the  mother  country.  They  acted  through  the  Lords 
of  Trade  in  England  and  through  colonial  governors  in  America. 

3.  In  1676  Bacon  led  an  uprising  in  Virginia  against  Governor 
Berkeley's  arbitrary  rule. 

4.  In  1681  Massachusetts  was  deprived  of  her  charter,  and  within  a 
few  years  all  the  New  England  colonies,  with  New  York  and  New  Jersey, 
were  put  under  the  tyrannical  rule  of  Governor  Andros. 

5.  When  James  II  lost  his  throne,  Andros  was  deposed,  and  Massa- 
chusetts was  given  a  new  charter  (1691). 

6.  The  government  of  each  colony  was  managed  by  (1)  a  governor 
elected  by  the  people  (Rhode  Island,  Connecticut)  or  appointed  by  the 
king  or  by  the  proprietor;  (2)  by  an  appointed  Council;  and  (3)  by  an 
Assembly  or  lower  house  elected  by  the  colonists. 

7.  Local  government  was  of  three  sorts:  in  New  England  the  town- 
ship system  prevailed ;  in  the  Southern  Colonies  the  county  system ;  and 
in  the  Middle  Colonies  a  mixture  of  the  two. 

8.  In  1660-1760  the  population  increased  nearly  tenfold  ;  stagecoaches, 
post  offices,  and  newspapers  were  introduced  ;  commerce  increased,  but  little 
manufacturing  was  done. 


CHAPTER    VIII 


THE    INDIANS 


Wherever  the  early  explorers  and  settlers  touched  our 
coast,  they  found  the  country  sparsely  inhabited  by  a  race  of 
men  they  called  Indians.  These  people,  like  their  descend- 
ants now  living  in  the  West,  were  a  race  with  copper-colored 
skins,  straight,  jet-black  hair,  black  eyes,  beardless  faces,  and 
high  cheek  bones. 

Mounds  and  Cliff  Dwellings.  —  Who  the  Indians  were  origi- 
nally, where  they  came  from,  how  they  reached  our  continent. 


Ruins  of  cliff  dwellings. 

nobody  knows.  Long  before  the  Europeans  came,  the  country 
was  inhabited  by  a  people,  probably  the  same  as  the  Indians, 
known  as  mound  builders.  Their  mounds,  of  many  sizes  and 
shapes  and  intended  for  many  purposes,  are  scattered  over 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  in  great  numbers.  Some  are 
in  the  shape  of  animals,  as  the  famous  serpent  mound  in  Ohio. 
Some  were  for  defense,  some  were  village  sites,  and  others  were 
for  burial  purposes. 

In  the  far  West  and  Southwest,  where  the  rivers  had  cut 
deep  beds,  were  the  cliff  dwellers.       In  hollow  places  in  the 

101 


102 


.RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


Tociky  cliffs  witich  form  the  walls  of  these  rivers,  in  Colorado, 
Arizona,  and  New  Mexico,  are  found  to-day  the   remains  of 

these  cliff  homes.  They  are 
high  above  the  river  and  diffi- 
cult to  reach,  and  could  easily 
be  defended.  1 

Tribes  and  Clans.  — The  In- 
dians were  divided  into  hun- 
dreds of  tribes,  each  with  its 
own  language  or  dialect  and 
generally  living  by  itself. 
Each  tribe  was  subdivided 
into  clans.  Members  of  a  clan 
were  those  who  traced  descent 
from  some  imaginary  ancestor, 
usually  an  animal,  as  the  wolf, 
the  fox,  the  bear,  the  eagle. ^ 
An  Indian  inherited  his  right 
to  be  a  wolf  or  a  bear  from  his 
mother.  Whatever  clan  she 
belonged  to,  that  was  his  also, 
and  no  man  could  marry  a 
woman  of  his  own  clan.  The 
civil  head  of  a  clan  was  a  "  sa- 
chem"; the  military  heads 
were  "chiefs."  The  sachem 
and  the  chiefs  were  elected  or 
deposed,  and  the  affairs  of  the 
clan  regulated,  by  a  council  of 
all  the  men  and  w^omen.  The  affairs  of  a  tribe  were  regulated 
by  a  council  of  the  sachems  and  chiefs  of  the  clans. ^ 

1  Read  Fiske's  Discovery  of  America^  Vol.  I,  pp.  85-94,  141-146. 

2  The  sign  or  emblem  of  this  ancestor,  called  the  totem,  was  often  painted 
on  the  clothing,  or  tattooed  on  the  body.  On  the  northwest  coast,  it  was  carved 
on  a  tall  pole,  made  of  a  tree  trunk,  which  was  set  up  before  the  dwelling. 

3  Scientists  have  grouped  the  North  American  tribes  into  fifty  or  more  dis- 
tinct families  or  groups,  each  consisting  of  tribes  whose  languages  were  probably 


Totem  pole  in  Alaska. 


THE   INDIANS 


103 


Confederacies.  —  As  a  few  clans  were  united  in  each  tribe, 
so  some  tribes  united  to  form  confederacies.  The  greatest  and 
most  powerful  of  these  was  the  league  of  the  Iroquois,  or  Five 
Nations,  in  central  New  York.^  It  was  composed  of  the  Seneca, 
Cayuga,  Onondaga,  Oneida  (o-ni'da),  and  Mohawk  tribes. 
Each  managed  its  own  tribal  affairs,  but  a  council  of  sachems 
elected  from  the  clans  had  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  confed- 
erac}'.  So  great  was  the  power  of  the  league  that  it  practically 
ruled  all  the  tribes  from  Hudson  Bay  to  North  Carolina,  and 
westward  as  far  as  Lake  Michigan.  Other  confederacies  of  less 
power  were  :  the  Dakota  and  Blackfeet,  west  of  the  Mississippi ; 
the  Powhatan,  in  Virginia;  and  the  Creek,  the  Chickasaw,  and 
the  Cherokee,  in  the 
South. 

Hunting. — One  of 
the  chief  occupations 
of  an  Indian  man  was 
hunting.  He  devised 
traps  with  great  skill. 
His  weapons  were 
bows  and  arrows  with 
stone  heads,  stone  hatchets  or  tomahawks,  flint  spears,  and 
knives  and  clubs.  To  use  such  weapons  he  had  to  get  close  to 
the  animal,  and  to  do  this  disguises  of  animal  heads  and  skins 
were  generally  adopted.  .The  Indians  hunted  and  trapped 
nearly  all  kinds  of  American  animals. 

Animals   and   Implements   Unknown   to   the   Indians.  —  Be- 
fore the  coming  of  the  Europeans  the  Indians  had  never  seen 

developed  from  a  common  tongue.  East  of  the  Mississippi  most  of  the  land  was 
occupied  by  three  groups:  (1)  Between  the  Tennessee  River  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  lived  the  Muskho'gees  (or  Maskoki),  including  the  Creek,  Choctaw,  and 
Chickasaw  tribes.  (2)  The  Iroquois  (Tr-o-kwoi'),  Cherokee',  and  related  tribes 
occupied  a  large  area  surrounding  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  smaller  areas  in 
the  southern  Appalachians  and  south  of  the  lower  James  River,  (.3)  The 
Algonquins  and  related  tribes  occupied  most  of  the  country  around  Lakes 
Superior  and  Michigan,  most  of  the  Ohio  valley,  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
north  of  the  James  River,  besides  much  of  Canada. 

1  Read  Fiske's  Discovpry  of  America,  vol.  I,  pp.  72-78. 


Indian  hatchet  and  arrowhead,  made  of  stone. 


104 


RIVALS   OF  THE   ENGLISH 


J},.  U.i.  ^.. 


Indians  in  full  dress. 


horses  or  cows,  sheep, 
hogs,  or  poultry.  The  dog 
was  their  only  domesti- 
cated animal,  and  in  many 
cases  the  so-called  dog  was 
really  a  domesticated  wolf. 
Neither  had  the  Indians 
ever  seen  firearms,  or  gun- 
powder, or  swords,  nails,  or 
steel  knives,  or  metal  pots 
or  kettles,  glass,  wheat, 
flour,  or  many  other  arti- 
cles in  common  use  among 
the  whites. 

Clothing.— Their  cloth- 
ing was  of  the  simplest 
kind,  and  varied,  of  course, 
with  the  climate.  The 
men  usually  wore  a  strip  of  deerskin  around  the  waist,  a  hunt- 
ing shirt,  leggings,  moccasins  on  the  feet,  and  some- 
times a  deerskin  over  the  shoulders.  Very  often 
they  wore  nothing  but  the  strip  about  the  waist 
and  the  moccasins.  These  garments  of  deerskin  were 
cut  with  much  care,  sewed  with  fish-bone  needles 
and  sinew  thread,  and  ornamented  with  shells  and 
quills. 

Painting  the  face  and  body  was  a  universal  custom. 
For  this  purpose  red  and  yellow  ocher,  colored  earths, 
juices  of  plants,  and  charcoal  were  used.  What  may  be 
called  Indian  jewelry  consisted  of  necklaces  of  teeth 
and  claws  of  bears,  claws  of  eagles  and  hawks,  and 
strings  of  sea  shells,  colored  feathers,  and  wampum. 
Wampum  consisted  of  strings  of  beads  made  from  sea 
shells,  and  was  highly  prized  and  used  not  only  for 
ornament,  but  as  Indian  money.  Wampum 

Houses.  —  The  dwelling  of  many  Eastern  Indians 


THE  INDIANS  105 

was  a  wigwam,  or  tent-shaped  lodge.  It  was  formed  of  sap- 
lings set  upright  in  the  ground  in  the  form  of  a  circle  and  bent 
together  at  their  tops.  Branches  wound  and  twisted  among 
the  saplings  completed  the  frame,  which  was  covered  with 
brush,  bark,  and  leaves.  A  group  of  such  wigwams  made  a  vil- 
lage, which  was  often  surrounded  with  a  stockade  of  tree  trunks 
put  upright  in  the  ground  and  touching  one  another. 

On  the  Western  plains  the  buffalo-hunting  Indian  lived 
during  tlie  summer  in  tepees,  or  circular  lodges  made  of  poles 
tied  toofctlier  at  the  small  ends  and  covered  with  buffalo 
skins  laced  together.  The  upper  end  of  the  tepee  was  left 
open  to  let  out  the  smoke  of  a  fire  built  inside.  In  winter 
these  plains  Indians  lived  in  earth  lodges. 

Food.  —  For  food  the  Eastern  Indians  had  fish  from  river, 
lake,  or  sea,  wild  turkeys,  wild  pigeons,  deer  and  bear  meat, 
corn,  squashes,  pumpkins,  beans,  berries,  fruits,  and  maple 
sugar  (which  they  taught  the  wliites  to  make).  In  the 
West  the  Indians  killed  buffaloes,  antelopes,  and  mountain 
sheep,  cut  their  flesh  into  strips,  and  dried  it  in  the  sun.^ 

Fish  and  meat  were  cooked  by 
laying  tlie  fish  on  a  framework  of 
sticks  built  over  a  fire,  and  hanging 
the  meat  on  sticks  before  the  fire. 
Corn  and  squashes  were  roasted  in 
the  ashes.  Dried  corn  was  also  ground 
between  stones,  mixed  with  water, 
and  baked  in  the  ashes.  Such  as  °  ^^°  ■'^^'  ^  a  e  c  ay. 
knew  how  to  make  clay  pots  could  boil  meat  and  vegetables. ^ 

iThe  manner  of  drying  was  called  "jerking."  Jerked  meat  would  keep 
for  months  and  was  cooked  as  needed.  Sometimes  it  was  pounded  between 
stones  and  mixed  with  fat,  and  was  then  called  pemmican. 

2  Fire  for  cooking  and  warming  was  started  by  pressing  a  pointed  stick 
against  a  piece  of  wood  and  turning  the  stick  around  rapidly.  Sometimes  this 
was  done  by  twirling  it  between  the  palms  of  the  hands,  sometimes  by  wrapping 
the  string  of  a  little  bow  around  the  stick  and  moving  the  bow  back  and  forth 
as  if  fiddling.  The  revolving  stick  would  form  a  fine  dust  which  the  heat  caused 
by  friction  would  set  on  tire. 


106 


RIVALS   OF  THE  ENGLISH 


Canoes.  —  In  moving  from  place  to  place  the  Indians  of  the 
East  traveled  on  foot  or  used  canoes.  In  the  northern  parts 
where  birch  trees  were  plentiful,  the  canoe  was  of  birch  bark 

stretched  over  a  light 
wooden  frame,  sewed  with 
strips  of  deerskin,  and 
smeared  at  the  joints  with 
spruce  gam  to  make  it 
watertight.  In  the  South 
tree  trunks  hollowed  out 
by  fire  and  called  dugouts 
were  used.  In  the  West 
there  were  "  bull  boats  " 
made  of  skins  stretched 
over  wooden  frames.  For 
winter  travel  the  Northern 
and  Western  Indians  used 
snowshoes. 


Making  a  dugout. 


After  the  Spaniards  brought  horses  to  the  Southwest,  herds 
of  wild  horses  roamed  the  southwestern  plains,  and  in  later  times 
gave  the  plains  Indians  a  means  of  travel  the  Eastern  Indians 
did  not  have. 

Indian  Trails.  —  The  Eastern  Indians  nevertheless  often 
made  long  journeys  for  purposes  of  war  or  trade,  and  had 
many  well-defined  trails  which  answered  as  roads.  Thus  one 
great  trail  led  from  the  site  of  Boston  by  way  of  Avhat  is  now 
the  city  of  Springfield  to  the  site  of  Albany.  Another  in 
Pennsylvania  led  from  where  Philadelphia  stands  to  the  Sus- 
quehanna, then  up  the  Juniata,  over  the  mountains,  and  to  the 
Allegheny  River.  There  were  thousands  of  such  trails  scat- 
tered over  the  country.  As  the  Indians  always  traveled  in 
single  file,  these  trails  were  narrow  paths  ;  they  were  worn  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot  or  more,  and  wound  in  and  out  among  the 
trees  and  around  great  rocks.  As  they  followed  watercourses 
and  natural  grades,  many  of  them  became  in  after  times  routes 
used  by  the  white  man  for  roads  and  railroads. 


THE  INDIANS 


107 


Along  the  seaboard  the  Indians  lived  in  villages  and  wan- 
dered about  but  little.  Hunting  and  war  parties  traveled 
great  distances,  but  each  tribe  had  its  home.  On  the  great 
plains  the  Indians  wandered  long  distances  with  their  women, 
children,  and  belongings. 


Western  Indians  traveling. 

Work  and  Play.—  The  women  did  most  of  the  work.  They 
built  the  wigwam,  cut  the  wood,  planted  the  corn,  dressed 
the  skins,  made  the  clothing,  and  when  the  band  traveled,  car- 
ried the  household  goods.  The  brave  made  bows  and  arrows, 
built  the  canoe,  hunted,  fished,  and  fought. 

Till  a  child,  or  papoose,  was  able  to  run  about,  it  was  care- 
fully wrapped  in  skins  and  tied  to  a  framework  of  wicker  which 
could  be  carried  on  the  mother's  back,  or  hung  on  the  branch  of 
a  tree  out  of  harm's  way.  When  able  to  go  about,  the  boys  were 
taught  to  shoot,  fish,  and  make  arrows  and  stone  implements,  and 


108  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

the  girls  to  weave  or  make  baskets,  and  do  all  the  things  they 
would  have  to  do  as  squaws. 

For  amusement,  the  Indians  ran  foot  races,  played  football^ 
and  lacrosse,  held  corn  huskings,  and  had  dances  for  all  sorts 
of  occasions,  some  of  them  religious  in  character.  Some 
dances  occurred  once  a  year,  as  the  corn  dance,  the  thanksgiv- 
ing of  the  Eastern  tribes;  the  sun  dance  of  the  plains  Indians; 
and  the  fish  dance  by  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  River 
country  at  tlie  opening  of  the  salmon-fishing  season.  The 
departure  of  a  war  party,  the  return  of  such  a  party,  the  end 
of  a  successful  hunt,  were  always  occasions  for  dances.^ 

Indian  Religion.  —  The  Indians  believed  that  every  person, 
every  animal,  every  thing  had  a  soul,  or  spirit,  or  manitou. 
The  ceremonies  used  to  get  the  good  will  of  certain  manitous 
formed  the  religious  rites.  On  the  plains  it  was  the  buffalo 
manitou,  in  the  East  the  manitou  of  corn,  or  sun,  or  rain,  that 
was  most  feared.  Everywhere  there  was  a  mythology,  or 
collection  of  tales  of  heroes  who  did  wonderful  things  for  the 
Indians.  Hiawatha  was  such  a  hero,  who  gave  them  fire,  corn, 
the  canoe,  and  other  things.^ 

Warfare.  —  An  Indian  war  was  generally  a  raid  by  a  small 

1  A  game  of  football  is  thus  described  :  "  Likewise  they  have  the  exercise 
of  football,  in  which  they  only  forcibly  encounter  with  the  foot  to  carry  the 
ball  the  one  from  the  other,  and  spurn  it  to  the  goal  with  a  kind  of  dexterity 
and  swift  footmanship  which  is  the  honor  of  it.  But  they  never  strike  up  one 
another's  heels,  as  we  do,  not  accounting  that  praiseworthy  to  purchase  a  goal 
by  such  an  advantage." 

2  One  who  was  with  Smith  in  Virginia  has  left  us  this  account  of  what  took 
place  when  the  Powhatan  was  crowned  (p.  42):  "In  a  fair  plain  field  they 
made  a  fire  before  which  (we  were)  sitting  upon  a  mat  (when)  suddenly  amongst 
the  woods  was  heard  ...  a  hideous  noise  and  shouting.  Then  presently  ... 
thirty  young  women  came  out  of  the  woods  .  .  .  their  bodies  painted  some 
white,  some  red,  some  black,  some  particolor,  but  all  differing.  Their  leader 
had  a  fair  pair  of  buck's  horns  on  her  head,  and  an  otter's  skin  at  her  girdle, 
and  another  at  her  arm,  a  quiver  of  arrows  at  her  back,  a  bow  and  arrows  in 
her  hand.  The  next  had  in  her  hand  a  sword,  another  a  club  ...  all  horned 
alike.  .  .  .  These  fiends  with  most  hellish  shouts  and  cries,  rushing  from 
among  the  trees,  cast  themselves  in  a  ring  about  the  fire,  singing  and  dancing. 
.  .  .  Having  spent  near  one  hour  on  this  masquerade,  as  they  entered  in  like 
manner  they  departed."  ^  Read  Longfellow's  Hiawatha. 


THE   INDIANS  109 

party  led  by  a  warrior  of  renown.  Such  a  chief,  standing 
beside  the  war  post  in  his  village,  would  publicly  announce  the 
raid  and  call  for  volunteers.  No  one  was  forced  to  go  ;  but 
those  who  were  willing  would  step  forward  and  strike  the  post 
with  their  tomahawks.  Among  the  plains  Indians  a  pipe  was 
passed  around,  and  all  who  smoked  it  stood  pledged  to  go. 

The  weapons  used  in  war  were  like  those  used  in  the  hunt. 
Though  the  Indians  were  brave  they  delighted  to  fight  from 
behind  trees,  to  creep  through  the  tall  grass  and  fall  upon 
their  enemy  unawares,  or  to  wait  for  him  in  ambush.  The 
dead  and  wounded  were  scalped.  Captive  men  were  generally 
put  to  death  with  torture  ;  but  captive  women  and  children 
were  usually  adopted  into  the  tribe. 

Indian  Wars  in  Virginia.  —  The  first  Europeans  who  came 
to  our  shores  were  looked  on  by  the  Indians  as  superior  beings, 
as  men  from  the  clouds.  But  before  the  settlers  arrived  this 
veneration  was  dispelled,  and  hostility  took  its  place.  Thus 
the  founders  of  Jamestown  had  scarcely  touched  land  when 
they  were  attacked.  But  Smith  brought  about  an  alliance 
with  the  Powhatan,  and  till  after  his  death  there  was  peace. 

Then  (1622),  under  the  lead  of  Opekan'kano,  an  attack  was 
made  along  the  whole  line  of  settlements  in  Virginia,  and  in 
one  day  more  than  three  hundred  whites  were  massacred,  their 
houses  burned,  and  much  property  destroyed.  The  blow  was 
a  terrible  one  ;  but  the  colonists  rallied  and  waged  such  a  war 
against  the  enemy  that  for  more  than  twenty  years  there  was 
no  great  uprising. 

But  in  1044  Opekankano  (then  an  old  and  grizzled  warrior) 
again  led  forth  his  tribes,  and  in  two  days  killed  several  hun- 
dred whites.  Once  more  the  settlers  rallied,  swept  the  Indian 
country,  captured  Opekankano,  and  drew  a  boundary  across 
which  no  Indian  could  come  without  permission.  If  he  did,  he 
might  be  shot  on  sight. ^ 

1  Thirty-one  years  later  another  outbreak  occurred,  and  for  months  burning 
and  scalping  v/ent  on  along  the  border,  till  the  Indians  were  beaten  by  the 
men  under  Nathaniel  Bacon  (p.  94). 


110 


RIVALS  OF  THE   ENGLISH 


Early  Indian  Wars  in  New  England.  —  In  New  England  the 
experience  of  the  early  settlers  was  much  the  same.  Murders 
by  the  Pequot  Indians  having  become  unendurable,  a  little 
fleet  was  sent  (1636)  against  them.  Block  Island  was  rav- 
aged, and  Pequots  on  the  mainland  were  killed  and  their  corn 
destroyed.  Sassacus,  sachem  of  the  Pequots,  thereupon  sought 
to  join  the  Narragansetts  with  him  in  an  attempt  to  drive  the 


Destruction  of  the  Pequots. 

English  from  the  country ;  but  Roger  Williams  persuaded 
the  Narragansetts  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  English,  and  the 
Pequots  began  the  war  alone.  In  the  winter  (1636-37)  the 
Connecticut  River  settlements  were  attacked,  several  men 
killed,  and  two  girls  carried  off. 

Destruction  of  the  Pequots.  —  In  May,  1637,  a  force  of 
seventy-seven  colonists  from  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts, 
led  by  John  Mason  and  John  Underbill,  marched  to  the  Pequot 


THE   INDIANS  111. 

village  in  what  is  now  the  southeast  corner  of  Connecticut. 
Some  Mohicans  and  Narragansetts  went  along ;  but  when  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  village,  they  refused  to  join  in  the  attack. 
The  village  was  a  cluster  of  wigwams  surrounded  by  a  stock- 
ade, with  two  narrow  openings  for  entrance.  While  some  of 
the  English  guarded  them,  the  rest  attacked  the  stockade, 
flung  torches  over  it,  and  set  the  wigwams  on  fire.  Of  tlie 
four  hundred  or  more  Indians  in  the  village,  but  five  escaped. 

King  Philip's  War.  —  For  thirty-eight  years  the  memory  of 
the  destruction  of  the  Pequots  kept  peace  in  New  England. 
Then  Philip,  a  chief  of  the  VVampanoags,  took  the  warpath 
(1675)  and,  joined  by  the  Nipmucks  and  Narragansetts,  sought 
to  drive  the  white  men  from  New  England.  The  war  began  in 
Rhode  Island,  but  spread  into  Massachusetts,  where  town  after 
town  was  attacked,  and  men,  women,  and  children  massacred. 
Roused  to  fury  by  these  deeds,  a  little  band  of  men  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, Plymouth,  and  Connecticut  in  the  dead  of  winter 
stormed  the  great  swamp  fortress  of  tlie  Narragansetts,  de- 
stroyed a  thousand  Indians,  and  burned  the  wigwams  and  winter 
supply  of  corn.  The  power  of  the  Narragansetts  was  broken; 
but  the  war  went  on,  and  before  midsummer  (1676)  twenty 
villages  had  been  attacked  by  the  Nipmucks.  But  they,  too, 
were  doomed ;  their  fighting  strength  was  destroyed  in  two 
victories  by  the  colonists.  In  August  Philip  was  shot  in  a 
swamp.  These  victories  ended  the  war  in  the  south,  but  it 
broke  out  almost  immediately  in  the  northeast,  and  raged  till 
the  summer  of  1678. 

During  these  three  years  of  war  New  England  suffered  ter- 
ribly. Twelve  towns  had  been  utterly  destroyed,  forty  had 
been  partly  burned,  and  a  thousand  men,  besides  scores  of 
women  and  children,  had  perished.  As  for  the  New  England 
Indians,  their  power  was  gone  forever.^ 

Indian  Wars  in  New  Netherland.  —  The  Dutch  in  New 
Netherland  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Iroquois,  to  whom 
they  sold  fire-arms ;  but  the  Tappans,  Raritans,  and  other  Algon- 
iReadFiske's  Beginnings  of  New  England,  pp.  128-133  ;  211-226,  236-236. 


112  RIVALS  OF  THE    ENGLISH 

quiri  tribes  round  about  New  Amsterdam  were  enemies  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  with  these  the  Dutcli  had  several  wars.  One 
(1641)  was  brought  on  by  Governor  Kieft's  attempt  to  tax 
the  Indians ;  another  (1643-45)  by  the  slaughter,  one  night,  of 
more  than  a  hundred  Indians  who  had  asked  the  Dutch  for 
shelter  from  their  Mohawk  enemies.  Many  Dutch  farmers 
were  murdered,  and  a  great  Indian  stronghold  in  Connecticut 
was  stormed  one  winter  night  and  seven  hundred  Indians 
killed.!  After  ten  years  of  peace  the  Indians  rose  again,, 
killed  men  in  the  streets  of  New  Amsterdam,  and  harried  Staten 
Island  ;  and  again,  after  an  outbreak  at  Esopus,  there  were 
several  years  of  war  (1658-64). 

In  North  Carolina  some  Algonquin  tribes  conspired  with 
the  Tuscarora  tribe  of  Iroquois  to  drive  the  white  men  from 
the  country,  and  began  horrid  massacres  (1711).  Help  came 
from  South  Carolina,  and  the  Tuscaroras  were  badly  beaten. 
But  the  war  was  renewed  next  year,  and  then  another  force  of 
white  men  and  Indians  from  South  Carolina  stormed  the  Tus- 
caroras' fort  and  broke  their  power.  The  Tuscaroras  migrated 
to  New  York  and  were  admitted  to  the  great  Iroquois  con- 
federacy of  the  Five  Nations,  which  thenceforth  was  known  as 
the  Six  Nations. 2 

In  South  Carolina.  —  Among  the  Indians  who  marched  to 
the  relief  of  North  Carolina  were  men  of  the  Yam'assee  tribe. 
That  they  should  turn  against  the  people  of  South  Carolina 
was  not  to  be  expected.  But  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustiije 
bought  them  with  gifts,  and,  joined  by  Creeks,  Cherokees,  and 
,^  others,  they  began  (in  1715)  a  war  which  lasted  nearly  a  year 
and  cost  the  lives  of  four  hundred  white  men.  They,  too, 
in  the  end  were  beaten,  and  the  Yamassees  fled  to  Florida. 

The  story  of  these  Indian  wars  has  been  told  not  because 
they  were  wars,  but  because  they  were  the  beginnings  of  that 
long  and  desperate  struggle  of  the  Indian  with  the  white  man 
which  continued  down  almost  to  our  own  time.     Tlie  march  of 

1  Read  Fiske's  Dutch  and  Quaker  Colonies,  Vol.  I,  pp.  177-180  ;  188-188. 

2  Read  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  her  Neighbours,  Vol.  II,  pp.  298-304. 


THE  INDIANS  113 

the  white  man  across  the  continent  has  been  contested  by 
the  Indian  at  every  step,  and  to-day  there  is  not  a  state  in  the 
Union  whose  soil  has  not  at  some  time  been  reddened  by  the 
blood  of  both. 

What  we  owe  to  the  Indian. —  The  contact  of  the  two  races 
has  greatly  influenced  our  language,  literature,  and  customs. 
Five  and  twenty  of  our  states,  and  hundreds  of  counties,  cities, 
mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  and  bays,  bear  names  derived  from 
Indian  languages.  Chipmunk  and  coyote,  moose,  opossum, 
raccoon,  skunk,  woodchuck,  tarpon,  are  all  of  Indian  origin. 
We  still  use  such  expressions  as  Indian  summer,  Indian  tile, 
Indian  corn  ;  bury  the  hatchet,  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace. 
To  the  Indians  we  owe  the  canoe,  the  snowshoe,  the  toboggan, 
lacrosse.  Squanto  taught  the  Pilgrims  how  to  plant  corn  in  hills, 
just  as  it  is  planted  to-day,  and  long  before  the  white  man  came, 
the  Indians  ate  hominy,  mush,  and  succotash,  planted  pumpkins 
and  squashes,  and  made  maple  sugar. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  Indians  were  divided  into  tribes,  and  the  tribes  into  clans.     * 

2.  Each  tribe  had  its  own  language  or  dialect,  and  usually  lived  by 
itself. 

3.  Members  of  a  clan  traced  descent  from  some  common  imaginary 
ancestor,  usually  an  animal.  The  civil  head  of  a  clan  was  the  sachem  ;  the 
military  heads  were  the  chiefs. 

4.  As  the  clans  were  united  into  tribes,  so  the  tribes  were  in  some 
places  joined  in  confederacies. 

5.  The  chief  occupations  of  Indian  men  were  hunting  and  waging  war. 

6.  Their  ways  of  life  varied  greatly  with  the  locality  in  which  they  lived : 
as  in  the  wooded  regions  of  the  East  or  on  the  great  plains  of  the  West;  in 
the  cold  country  of  the  North  or  in  the  warmer  South. 

7.  The  growth  of  white  settlements,  crowding  back  the  Indians,  led  to 
several  notable  wars  in  early  colonial  times,  in  all  of  which  the  Indians 
were  beaten  :  — 

In  Virginia :  uprisings  in  1622  and  in  1644;  border  war  in  1676. 

In  New  England  :    Pequot  War,  1636-37;  King  Philip's  War,  1675-78. 

In  New  Netherland  :   several  wars  with  Algonquin  tribes. 

In  North  Carolina:    Algonquin-Tuscarora  uprising,  1711-13. 

In  South  Carolina:    Yamassee  uprising,  1715-16. 

McM.   BRIEF 8 


CHAPTER   IX 


THE   FRENCH  IN   AMERICA 


While  English,  Dutch,  and  Swedes  were  settling  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  of  North  America,  the  French  took  pos- 
session of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi. Though  the  attempt  of  Cartier  to  plant  a  colony  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  failed  (p.  30),  the  French  never  lost  interest  in 
that  part  of  the  world,  and  new  attempts  were  made  to  plant 
colonies. 

The  French  in  Nova  Scotia.  —  All  failed  till  De  Monts 
(d'mawng)  and  Charaplain   (sham-plan')^  came  over  in  1604 


I      ^ 


LABRADOR 


NE;Wf^QUNDLJAND      i^ 


7>   GUI/  OS  g_^W)H[ 
'^  ^    ^v^^r^  AT'  ^""°i5 a ^ "' 


SCALE  OF  MILES 
a       200       300       400        hhO 


Canada  (New  France)  and  Acadia. 

with  two  shiploads  of  colonists.     Some  landed  on  the  shore  of 
what  is  now  Nov^  Scotia  and  founded  Port  Royal.     The  others, 

1  Samuel  de  Champlain  (born  in  1567)  had  been  a  captain  in  the  royal  navy, 
and  had  visited  the  West  Indies,  Mexico,  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  across 
which  he  suggested  a  canal  should  be  cut.  In  1603  he  was  offered  a  command 
in  a  company  of  adventurers  to  New  France.  On  this  voyage  Champlain  went 
up  the  St,  Lawrence  to  the  site  of  the  Indian  town  called  Hochelaga  by 
Cartier  (p.  30) ;  but  the  village  had  disappeared.  Returning  to  France,  he  joined 
the  party  of  De  Monts  (1604). 

114 


THE   FRENCH   IN   AMERICA  115 

led  by  De  Monts,  explored  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  on  an  island 
at  the  mouth  of  a  river  planted  a  colony  called  St.  Croix.  The 
name  St.  Croix  (croy)  in  time  was  given  to  the  river  which  is 
now  part  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  Maine.  One  winter  in 
that  climate  was  enough,  and  in  the  spring  (1605)  the  coast 
from  Maine  to  Massachusetts  was  explored  in  search  of  a  better 
site  for  the  colony.  None  suited,  and,  returning  to  St.  Croix, 
De  Monts  moved  the  settlers  to  Port  Royal. 

Quebec  Founded.  —  This  too  was  abandoned  for  a  time,  and 
in  1607  the  colonists  were  back  in  France.  Champlain,  how- 
ever, longed  to  be  again  in  the  New  World,  and  soon  persuaded 
De  Monts  once  more  to  attempt  colonization.  In  1608,  there- 
fore, Champlain  with  two  ships  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
founded  Quebec.  Here,  as  was  so  often  the  case,  the  first 
winter  was  a  struggle  for  life;  when  spring  came,  only  eight 
of  the  colonists  were  alive.  But  help  soon  reached  them,  and 
France  at  last  had  secured  a  permanent  foothold  in  America. 
The  drainage  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  called  New  France  i/ 
(or  Canada);  the  lands  near  Port  Royal  became  another 
French  colony,  called  Acadia. 

Exploration  of  New  France.  —  Champlain  at  once  made 
friends  with  the  Indians,  and  in  1609  went  with  a  party  of  ; 
Hurons  to  help  fight  their  enemies,  the  Iroquois  Indians  who  '^ 
dwelt  in  central  New  York.i  The  way  was  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  up  a  branch  of  that  river  to  the  lake  which  now  bears  the 
name  of  Champlain.  On  its  western  shore  the  expected  fight 
took  place,  and  a  victory,  due  to  the  fire-arms  of  Champlain 
and  his  companions,  was  won  for  the  Hurons.^     Later  Cham- 

1  The  year  1609  is  important  in  our  history.  Then  it  was  that  Champlain 
fought  the  Iroquois ;  that  the  second  Virginia  charter  was  granted  ;  and  that 
Hudson's  expedition  gave  the  Dutch  a  claim  to  territory  in  the  New  World. 

2  The  fight  with  the  Iroquois  took  place  not  far  from  Ticonderoga.  When  the 
two  parties  approached,  Champlain  advanced  and  fired  his  musket.  The  woods 
rang  with  the  report,  and  a  chief  fell  dead.  "There  arose,"  says  Champlain,  "a 
yell  like  a  thunderclap  and  the  air  was  full  of  arrows."  But  when  another  and 
another  gun  shot  came  from  the  bushes,  the  Iroquois  broke  and  fled  like  deer. 
The  victory  was  won  ;  but  it  made  the  Iroquois  the  lasting  enemies  of  the 
French.    Read  Parkman's  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World,  pp.  310-324. 


116 


RIVALS   OF  THE   ENGLISH 


plain  explored  the  Ottawa  River,  saw  the  waters  of  Lake  Huron, 
and  crossed  Lake  Ontario.  But  the  real  work  of  French 
discovery  and  exploration  in  the  interior  was  done  by  Catholic 
priests  and  missionaries. 

The  Catholic  Missionaries.  —  With   crucifixes   and   portable 
altars  strapped  on  their  backs,  these  brave  men  pushed  boldly 

into  the  Indian  country. 


y-' 


\ 


/"<-' 


Guided  by  the  Indians, 
they  walked  through  the 
dense  forests,  paddled  in 
birch-bark  canoes,  and 
penetrated  a  wilderness 
where  no  white  man  had 
ever  been.  They  built 
little  chapels  of  bark  near 
the  Indian  villages,  and 
labored  hard  to  convert 
the  red  men  to  Chris- 
tianity. It  was  no  easy 
task.  Often  and  often 
their  lives  were  in  dan- 
ger. Some  were  drowned. 
Some  were  burned  at  the 
stake.  Others  were  tom- 
ahawked. But  neither 
cold  nor  hunger,  nor  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of 
life  in  the  wilderness, 
could  turn  the  priests  from  their  good  work.  One  of  them 
toiled  for  ten  years  among  the  Indians  on  the  Niagara  River 
and  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron  ;  two  others  reached  the  outlet 
of  Lake  Superior;  a  fourth  paddled  in  a  canoe  along  its 
south  shore. 

The  King's  Maidens.  —  For  fifty  years  after  the  founding  of 
Quebec  few  settlers  came  to  Canada.  Then  the  French  king 
sent  over  each  year  a  hundred  or  more  young  women  who  were 


French  priest  and  Indians  in  birch-bark  canoe. 


THE  FRENCH  IN  AMERICA 


117 


to  become  wives  of  the  settlers. ^  Besides  encouraging  farming, 
the  government  tried  to  induce  the  men  to  engage  in  cod  fishing 
and  whaling;  but  the  only  business  that  really  flourished  in 
Canada  was  trading  with  the  Indians  for  furs. 

The  Fur  Trade.  — Each  year  a  great  fair  was  held  outside 
the  stockade  of  Montreal,  to  which  hundreds  of  Indians  came 
from  the  far  western  lakes.  They 
brought  canoe  loads  of  beaver  skins 
and  furs  of  small  animals,  and  ex- 
changed them  for  bright-colored 
cloth,  beads,  blankets,  kettles,  and 
knives. 

This  great  trade  was  a  monop- 
oly. Its  profits  could  not  be  en- 
joyed by  everybody.  Numbers  of 
hardy  young  men,  therefore,  took  to 
the  woods  and  traded  with  the 
Indians  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
king's  officers.  By  so  doing  these 
wood  rangers  Qcoureurs  de  bois^^  as 
they  were  called,  became  outlaws, 
and  if  caught,  might  be  flogged  and  branded  with  a  hot  iron. 
They  built  trading  posts  at  many  places  in  the  West,  and  often 
married  Indian  women,  which  went  a  long  way  to  make  the 
Indians  friends  of  the  French. 2 

The  Mississippi.  —  When  the  priests  and  traders  reached  the 
country  about  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Michigan,  they  heard 
from  the  Indians  of  a  great  river  called  the  Mississippi  —  that  is, 
"Big  Water"  or  "Father  of  Waters."  Might  not  this,  it  was 
asked,  be  the  long-sought  northwest  passage  to  the  Indies  ? 
In  hopes  that  it  was.  Father  Marquette  (mar-ket^),  a  priest  who 
had  founded  a  mission  on  the  Strait  of  jNIackinac  (mack'i-naw) 

1  About  1000  came  in  eight  years.  When  married,  they  received  each  "an 
ox,  a  cow,  a  pair  of  swine,  a  pair  of  fowls,  two  barrels  of  salted  meat,  and  eleven 
crowns  in  money."     Read  Parkman's  Okl  Regime  in  Canada^  pp.  219-225. 

2  The  fur  trade,  which  was  the  life  blood  of  Canada,  is  finely  described  in 
Parkman's  Old  Regime  in  Canada^  pp.  302-315. 


Indian  and  fur  trader. 


Longitude 


from         80        Greenwich 


118 


THE   FRENCH  IN  AMERICA 


119 


between  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  and  Joliet  (zho-le-a'),  a 
trapper  and  soldier,  were  sent  to  find  the  river  and  follow  it  to 
the  sea. 

They  started  in  the  spring  of  1673  with  five  companions  in  {/ 
two  canoes.  Their  way  was  from  the  Strait  of  Mackinac  to 
Green  Bay  in  Wis- 
consin, up  the  Fox 
River,  across  a 
portage  to  the 
Wisconsin  River, 
and  down  this  to 
the  Mississippi,  on 
whose  waters  they 
floated  and  pad- 
dled to  a  place 
probably  below 
the  mouth  of  the 
^  Arkansas.  There 
the  travelers 
stopped,       and 

turned  back  toward  Canada,  convinced  that  the  great  river  ^ 
must  flow  not  to  the  Pacific,  but  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

La  Salle  on  the  Mississippi,  1682. — The  voyage  of  Mar- 
quette and  Joliet  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  France. 
Yet  the  only  man  who  seems  to  have  been  fully  awake  to  its 
importance  was  La  Salle.  If  the  Mississippi  flowed  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  a  new  and  boundless  Indian  trade  lay  open 
to  Frenchmen.  But  did  it  flow  into  the  Gulf  ?  That  was  a 
question  La  Salle  proposed  to  settle  ;  but  three  heroic  attempts 
were  made,  and  two  failures,  which  to  other  men  would  have 

1  Marquette  named  the  river  Immaculate  Conception.  He  noted  the  abun- 
dance of  fish  in  its  waters,  the  broad  prairies  on  which  grazed  herds  of  buffalo, 
and  the  flocks  of  wild  turkeys  in  the  woods.  On  his  way  home  he  ascended  the 
Illinois  River,  and  crossed  to  Lake  Michigan,  passing  over  the  site  where  Chi- 
cago now  stands.  Read  Mary  Hartwell  Catherwood's  Heroes  of  the  Middle 
West ;  also  Parkman's  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  pp.  48-71; 
and  Hart's  American  History  as  told  by  Contemporaries,  Vol.  I,  pp.  136-140. 


Marquette  and  Joliet  at  a  portage. 


120  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

been  disheartening,  were  endured,  before  he  passed  down  the 
river  to  its  mouth  in  1682.1 

Louisiana. —  Standing  on  the  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 

La  Salle  put  up  a  rude  cross,  nailed  to  it  the  arms  of  France, 

and,  in  the  name  of  the  French  king,  Louis  XIV,  took  formal 

J  possession  of  all  the  region  drained  by  the  Mississippi  and  its 

branches.     He  named  the  country  Louisiana. 

La  Salle  knew  little  of  the  extent  of  the  region  he  thus 
added  to  the  possessions  of  France  in  the  New  World.  But 
the  claim  was  valid,  and  Louisiana  stretched  from  the  unknown 
sources  of  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Appalachian  Mountains  on 
the  east,  to  the  unknown  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  and 
from  the  watershed  of  the  Great  Lakes  on  the  north,  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south. 

La  Salle  attempts  to  occupy  Louisiana,  1682.  —  But  the 
great  work  La  Salle  had  planned  was  yet  to  be  done.  Louisiana 
had  to  be  occupied. 

A  fort  was  needed  far  up  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to 
overawe  the  Indians  and  secure  the  fur  trade.     Hurrying  back 

1  In  the  first  attempt  he  left  Fort  Frontenac,  coasted  along  the  north  shore 
of  Lake  Ontario,  crossed  over  and  went  up  the  Niagara  River,  and  around  the 
Falls  to  Lake  Erie,  There  he  built  a  vessel  called  the  Griffin,  which  was  sailed 
through  the  lakes  to  the  northern  part  of  Lake  Michigan  (1679).  Thence  he 
went  in  canoes  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  river  St.  Joseph,  where 
he  built  a  fort  (Fort  St.  Joseph),  and  then  pushed  on  to  the  Illinois  River  and 
(near  the  present  city  of  Peoria)  built  another  called  Fort  Cr^vecoeur  (crav'ker). 
There  he  left  Henri  de  Tonty  in  charge  of  a  party  to  build  another  ship,  and 
went  back  to  Canada. 

When  he  returned  to  the  Illinois  in  1680,  on  his  second  trip,  Cr^vecceur  was 
in  ruins,  and  Tonty  and  his  men  gone.  In  hope  of  finding  them  La  Salle  went 
down  the  Illinois  to  the  Mississippi,  but  he  turned  back  and  passed  the  winter 
on  the  river  St.  Joseph.  (Read  Parkman's  description  of  the  great  town  of 
the  Illinois  and  its  capture  by  the  Iroquois,  in  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of 
the  Great  West,  pp.  205-215.) 

From  the  St.  Joseph,  after  another  trip  to  Canada,  La  Salle  (with  Tonty) 
started  westward  for  the  third  time  (late  in  1681),  crossed  the  lake  to  where 
Chicago  now  is,  went  down  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi,  and  in  April,  1682, 
floated  out  on  the  waters  of  the  Gulf. 

On  his  first  expedition  La  Salle  was  accompanied  by  Father  Hennepin, 
whom  he  sent  down  the  Illinois  and  up  the  Mississippi.  But  the  Sioux  (soo) 
Indians  captured  Father  Hennepin,  and  took  him  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  falls 
which  he  named  St.  Anthony,  now  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 


THE   FRENCH  IN  AMERICA 


121 


to  the  Illinois  River,  La  Salle,  in  December,  1682,  on  the  top  of 
a  steep  cliff,  built  a  stockade  and  named  it  Fort  St.  Louis. 

A  fort  and  city  also  needed  to  be  built  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  to  keep  out  the  Spaniards  and  afford  a  place  whence 
furs  floated  down  the  river  might  be  shipped  to  France  This 
required  the  aid  of  the  king.  Hurrying  to  Paris,  La  Salle 
persuaded  Louis  XIV  to  help  him,  and  was  sent  back  with  four 
ships  to  found  the  city. 

La  Salle  in  Texas,  1684.  —  But  the  little  fleet  missed  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  reached  the  coast  of  Texas.  There  the 
men  landed  and  built  Fort  St.  .- 

Louis  of  Texas.  Well  know- 
ing that  he  had  passed  the 
river.  La  Salle  left  some  men 
at  the  fort,  and  with  the  rest 
started  on  foot  to  find  the  Mis- 
sissippi— but  never  reached 
it.  H^  was  murdered  on  the 
way  by  his  own  men. 

Of  the  men  left  in  Texas 
the  Indians  killed  some,  and 
the  Spaniards  killed  or  cap- 
tured the  rest,  and  the  plans  of  this  great  explorer  failed  utterly.  ^ 

Biloxi.  —  La  Salle's  scheme  of  founding  a  city  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  however,  was  carried  out  by  other  men. 
Fear  that  the  English  would  seize  the  mouth  of  the  river  led 
the  French  to  act,  and  in  1699  a  gallant  soldier  named  Iber- 
ville (e-ber-veel^)  built  a  small  stockade  and  planted  a  colony 
at  Bilox'i  on  the  coast  of  what  is  now  Mississippi.  '^ 

Newl}rleans  Founded.  —  During  fifteen  years  and  more  the 
little  colony,  which  was  soon  moved  from  Biloxi  to  the  vicinity 
of  Mobile  (map,  p.  134),  struggled  on  as  best  it  could;  then 
steps  were  taken  to  plant  a  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  (1718)  Bienville  (be-an-veel')  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  a  city  he  called  New  Orleans. 

1  Read  Parkman's  La  Salle,  pp.  276-288,  350-355,  396-405. 


La  Salle's  house  (Canada)  in  1900. 


122 


RIVALS   OF  THE   ENGLISH 


SUMMARY 

1.  After  many  failures,  a  French  colony  was  planted  at  Port  Royal  in 
Acadia  (Nova  Scotia)  in  IGOl ;  but  this  was  abandoned  for  a  time,  and  the 
first  permanent  French  colony  was  planted  by  Champlain  at  Quebec  in 
1608. 

2.  From  these  settlements  grew  up  the  two  French  colonies  called 
Acadia  and  New  France  or  Canada. 

3.  New  France  was  explored  by  Champlain,  and  by  many  brave  priests. 

4.  Marquette  and  Joliet  reached  the  Mississippi  and  explored  it  from 
the  Wisconsin  to  the  Arkansas  (1673). 

5.  Their  unfinished  work  was  taken  up  by  La  Salle,  who  went  down 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  (1682),  and  formally  claimed  for  France  all  the 
region  drained  by  the  river  and  its  tributaries  —  a  vast  area  which  he 
called  Louisiana. 

6.  Occupation  of  the  Mississippi  valley  by  the  French  followed ;  forts 
and  trading  posts  were  built,  and  in  1718  New  Orleans  was  founded. 


An  Indian  village. 


CHAPTER   X 


WARS  WITH   THE   FRENCH 


King  William's  War.  —  When  James  II  was  driven  from 
his  throne  (p.  93),  he  fled  to  France.  His  quarrel  with  King 
William  was  taken  up  by  Louis  XIV,  and  in  1689  war  began 
between  France  and  England.  The  strife  thus  started  in  the 
Old  World  soon  spread  to  the  New,  and  during  eight  years  the 
frontier  of  New  England  and  New  York  was  the  scene  of 
French  and  Indian  raids,  massacres,  and  burning  towns. 

The  Frontier.  — The  frontier  of  English  settlement  con- 
sisted of  a  string  of  little  towns  close  to  the  coast  in  Maine 


^'     \  \       f^\  CAPF^eR9T 


(I 


0  ijy 


A    ^ 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


130 


Scene  of  the  early  wars  with  the  French. 

and  New  Hampshire,  and  some  sixty  miles  back  from  the  coast 
in  Massachusetts  ;    of  a  second  string  of   towns  up   the   Con- 

123 


124  RIVALS  OF  THE   ENGLISH 

necticut  valley  to  central  Massachusetts ;  and  of  a  third  up  the 
Hudson  to  the  Mohawk  and  up  the  Mohawk  to  Schenec'tady. 
Most  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  all  of  what  is  now  Vermont, 
and  all  New  York  north  and  west  of  the  Mohawk  was  a  wilder- 
ness pierced  by  streams  which  afforded  the  French  and  Indians 
easy  ways  of  reaching  the  English  frontier. 

The  French  frontier  consisted  of  a  few  fishing  towns 
scattered  along  the  shores  of  Acadia  (what  is  now  Nova  Scotia, 
New  Brunswick,  and  eastern  Maine),  and  a  few  settlements 
along  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Fort  Frontenac,  just  where  the  river 
leaves  Lake  Ontario. 

Between  these  frontiers  in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  were 
the  Abenaki  (ab-nahk^ee)  Indians,  close  allies  of  the  French 
and  bitter  enemies  of  the  English  ;  and  in  New  York  the  Iro- 
quois, allies  of  the  English  and  enemies  of  the  French  since 
the  day  in  1609  when  Champlain  defeated  them  (p.  115). ^ 

The  French  attack  the  English  Frontier.  —  The  governor  of 
New  France  was  Count  Frontenac,  a  man  of  action,  keen,  fiery, 
and  daring,  a  splendid  executive,  an  able  commander,  and  well 
called  the  Father  of  New  France.  Gathering  his  Frenchmen 
and  Indians  as  quickly  as  possible,  Frontenac  formed  three  war 
parties  on  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the  winter  of  1689-90  :  that  at 
Montreal  was  to  march  against  Albany  ;  that  at  Three  Rivers 
1  was  to  ravage  the  frontier  of  New  Hampshire,  and  that  at 
Quebec  the  frontier  of  Maine.  The  Montreal  party  was  ready 
first,  and  made  its  way  on  snowshoes  to  the  little  palisaded 
village  of  Schenectady,  passed  through  the  open  gates  ^  in  a 
blinding  storm  of  snow,  and  in  the  darkness  of  night  massacred 

1  It  was  only  a  few  years  after  this  defeat  that  the  Dutch  planted  their 
trading  posts  on  the  upper  Hudson.  They  made  friends  of  the  Iroquois,  and 
when  the  English  succeeded  the  Dutch,  they  followed  the  same  wise  policy, 
encouraged  the  old  hatred  of  the  Indians  for  the  French,  and  inspired  more 
than  one  of  their  raids  into  Canada.  The  Iroquois  thus  became  a  barrier  against 
the  French  and  prevented  them  from  coming  down  the  Hudson  and  so  cutting 
off  New  England  from  the  Middle  Colonies. 

2  The  inhabitants,  mostly  Dutch,  had  been  advised  to  be  on  their  guard, 
but  they  laughed  at  the  advice,  kept  their  gates  open,  and,  it  is  said,  at  one  of 
them  put  two  snow  men  as  mock  sentinels. 


^ 


WARS  WITH  THE  FRENCH 


125 


The  attack  at  Schenectady. 


threescore  men,  women,  and  children,  took  captive  as  many 
more,  and  left  the  place  in  ashes. 

The  second  war  party  of  French  and  Indians  left  the  St. 
Lawrence  in  January,  1690,  spent  three  months  struggling 
through  the  wilderness,  and  in  March  fell  upon  the  village  of 
Salmon  Falls,  laid  it  in  ashes,  ravaged  the  farms  near  by,  mas- 
sacred some  thirty  men,  women,  and  children,  and  carried  off 
some  fifty  prisoners.  This  deed  done,  the  party  hurried  east- 
ward and  fell  in  with  the  third  party,  from  Quebec.  The 
two  then  attacked  and  captured  Fort  Loyal  (where  Portland 
now  stands),  and  massacred  or  captured  most  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. 

End  of  King  William's  War.  —  Smarting  under  the  attacks 
of  the  French  and  Lidians,  New  England  struck  back.  Its 
fleet,  with  a  few  hundred  militia  under  William  Phips,  cap- 
tured and  pillaged  Port  Royal,  and  for  a  time  held  Acadia.  A 
little  army  of  troops  from  Connecticut  and  New  York  marched 
against  Montreal,  and  a  fleet  and  army  under  Phips  sailed  for 
Quebec.     But  the  one  went  no  farther  than  Lake  Champlain, 


126  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

and  Phips,  after  failing  in  an  attack  on  Quebec,  returned  to 
Boston.  1 

For  seven  years  more  the  French  and  Indians  ravaged  the 
frontier^  before  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  (riz^wick)  put  an  end  to 
the  war  in  1697. 

Queen  Anne's  War.  —  In  the  short  interval  of  peace  which 
followed,  the  French  made  a  settlement  at  Biloxi,  as  we  have 
seen,  and  founded  Detroit  (1701).  In  Europe  the  French  king 
(Louis  XIV)  placed  his  grandson  on  the  throne  of  Spain  and, 
on  the  death  of  James  II,  recognized  James's  young  son  as  King 
James  III  of  England.  For  this,  war  was  declared  by  Eng- 
land in  1701.  The  struggle  which  followed  was  known  abroad 
as  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  but  in  our  country  as 
Queen  Anne's  War.^ 

Again  the  frontier  from  Maine  to  Massachusetts  was  the 
scene  of  Indian  raids  and  massacres.  Haverhill  was  laid  waste 
a  second  time,*  and  Deerfield  in  the  Connecticut  valley  was 
burned. 

The  Attack  on  Deerfield  was  a  typical  Indian  raid.  The 
village,  consisting  of  forty-one  houses  strung  along  a  road, 
stood  on  the  extreme  northwestern  frontier  of  Massachusetts. 
In  the  center  of  the  place  was  a  square  wooden  meetinghouse 
which,  with  some  of  the  houses,  was  surrounded  by  a  stockade 
eight  feet  high  flanked  on  two  corners  by  blockhouses.^      Late 

1  It  was  expected  that  the  plunder  of  Quebec  would  pay  the  cost  of  the 
expedition.  Failure  added  to  the  debt  of  Massachusetts,  and  forced  the  colony 
to  issue  paper  money  or  "  bills  of  credit."  This  was  the  first  time  such  money 
was  issued  by  any  of  the  colonies.     (For  picture  of  a  bill  of  credit,  see  p.  204.) 

2  They  captured,  plundered,  and  burned  York,  were  beaten  in  an  attack  on 
Wells,  burned  houses  and  tomahawked  a  hundred  people  at  Durham,  and  burned 
the  farmhouses  near  Haverhill. 

3  Queen  Mary  died  in  1694,  and  King  William  in  1702.  The  crown  then 
passed  to  Anne,  sister  of  Mary.  The  war,  therefore,  was  fought  mostly  during 
her  reign. 

*  Read  Whittier's  poem  Pentucket,  and  his  account  in  prose  called  The  Bor- 
der War  of  1708. 

^  Formidable  as  was  the  fort,  the  snow  of  a  severe  winter  had  been  suffered 
to  pile  in  drifts  against  the  stockade  till  in  places  it  nearly  reached  the  top,  so 
that  the  stockade  was  no  longer  an  obstacle  to  the  French  and  Indians. 


WARS   WITH   THE  FRENCH  127 

in  February,  1704,  a  band  of  French  and  Indians  from  Canada  \y 
reached  the  town,  hid  in  the  woods  two  miles  away,  and  just 
before  dawn  moved  quietly  across  the  frozen  snow,  rushed 
into  the  village,  and,  raising  the  warwhoop,  beat  in  the  house 
doors  with  ax  and  hatchet.  A  few  of  the  wretched  inmates 
escaped  half-clad  to  the  next  village,  but  nine  and  forty  men, 
women,  and  children  were  massacred,  and  one  hundred  more 
were  led  away  captives.  ^ 

End  of  Queen  Anne's  War.  —  As  the  war  went  on,  the  English 
colonists  twice  attacked  Port  Royal  in  vain,  but  on  the  third 
attack  in  J710  the  place  was  captured.  This  time  the  English 
took  permanent  possession  and  renamed  it  Annapolis  in  honor  l^ 
of  the  queen.  To  Acadia  was  given  the  name  N'ova  Scotia.  En- 
couraged by  the  success  at  Port  Royal,  the  greatest  fleet  ever 
seen,  up  to  that  time,  in  American  waters  was  sent  against 
Quebec,  and  an  army  of  twenty-three  hundred  men  marched 
by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  to  attack  Montreal. 

But  the  fleet,  having  lost  nine  ships  and  a  thousand  men 
in  the  fog  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  returned  to  Bos- 
ton, and  the  commander  of  the  army,  hearing  of  this,  marched 
back  to  Albany.  When  peace  was  made  by  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht  (fi'trekt)  in  1713,  France  was  forced  to  give  up  to  Great  ^j 
Britain  ^  Acadia,  Newfoundland,  and  all  claim  to  the  territory  — 
drained  by  the  rivers'That  flow  into  Hudson  Bay  (map,  p.  134). 
"^The  French  buHd  Forts  in  Louisiana.  —  Thirty-one  years  now 
passed  before  France  and  Great  Britain  were  again  at  war,  and 
in  this  period  France  took  armed  possession  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  constructed  a  chain  of  forts  from  New  Orleans  to  the 
Ohio,  and  built  Forts  Niagara  and  Crown  Point. 

This  meant  that  the  French  were  determined  to  keep  the 
British  out  of  Louisiana  and  New  France  and  confine  them  to 
the  seacoast.     But  the  French  were  also  determined  to  regain 

iRead  Parkman's  Half- Century  of  Conflict,  Vol.  I,  pp.  52-66. 

2  Ever  since  the  accession  of  King  James  I  (1603)  England  and  Scotland 
had  been  under  the  same  king,  but  otherwise  had  been  independent,  each  having 
its  own  Parliament.  Now,  in  Queen  Anne's  reign,  the  two  countries  were  united 
(1707)  and  made  the  one  country  of  Great  Britain,  with  one  Parliament. 


128 


RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


Acadia,  and  on  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  they  built  Louis- 
burg,  the  strongest  fortress  in  America.  ^ 

King  George's  War.  —  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  in 
1744  Great  Britain  and  France  again  went  to  war.     As  George 

jl  was  then  king  of 
Great  Britain,  the  colo- 
nists called  the  strife 
King  George's  War. 
The  French  now  rushed 
down  on  Nova  Scotia 
and  attacked  Annapolis. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
of  Nova  Scotia  would  be 
Plan  of  Louisburg,  1745.  conquered  ;    but  instead 

the  people  of  New  England  sent  out  a  fleet  and  army  and  cap- 
tured Louisburg. 2 

When  peace  was  made  (1748),  after  two  years  more  of 
fighting,  Great  Britain  gave  Louisburg  back  to  France. 

The  French  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  —  The  war  ended  and  no 
territory  lost,  the  French  at  once  laid  plans  to  shut  the  British 
out  of  the  Ohio  valley,  which  France  claimed  because  the  Ohio 
River  and  its  tributaries  flowed  into  the  Mississippi.     In  1749, 

1  It  was  during  these  years  of  peace  that  Georgia  was  planted.  The  Span- 
iards at  St,  Augustine  considered  this  an  intrusion  into  their  territory,  and  pro- 
tested vigorously  when  Oglethorpe  established  a  line  of  military  posts  from  the 
Altamaha  to  the  St.  Johns  River.  When  word  came  that  Great  Britain  and  Spain 
were  at  war,  Oglethorpe,  aided  by  British  ships,  (1740)  attacked  St.  Augustine. 
He  failed  to  capture  the  city,  and  the  Spaniards  (1742)  invaded  Georgia.  Ogle- 
thorpe, though  greatly  outnumbered,  made  a  gallant  defense,  forced  the  Span- 
iards to  withdraw,  and  (1743)  a  second  time  attacked  St.  Augustine,  but  failed  to 
take  it. 

^--fhe  expedition  was  undertaken  without  authority  from  the  king.  The 
army  was  a  body  of  raw  recruits  from  the  farms,  the  shops,  lumber  camps, 
and  fishing  villages.  The  commander  —  Pepperell  —  was  chosen  because  of  his 
popularity,  and  knew  no  more  about  attacking  a  fortress  than  the  humblest  man 
in  the  ranks.  Of  cannon  suitable  to  reduce  a  fortress  the  army  had  none. 
Nevertheless,  by  dint  of  hard  work  and  good  luck,  and  largely  by  means  of 
many  cannon  captured  from  the  French,  the  garrison  was  forced  to  surrender. 
Read  Hawthorne's  Grandfather's  Chair,  Part  ii,  Chap,  vii ;  also  Chaps,  viii 
and  ix. 


WARS  WITH   THE   FRENCH  129 

therefore,  a  party  of  Frenchmen  under  Celoron  (sfi-lo-rawng')  V 
were  sent  to  take  formal  possession  of  that  region. ^ 

The  Buried  Plates.  —  Paddling  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
Lake  Ontario,  these  men  carried  their  canoes  around  Niagara 
Falls,  coasted  along  Lake  Erie  to  a  place  near  Chautauqua  Lake, 
and  going  overland  to  the  lake  went  down  its  outlet  to  the 
Allegheny  River.      There  the  men  were  drawn  up,  the  French 


r^. 


H.V..  - 
DA"-!  ^ 
AVOM: 


:jiv.  .  .  . 


One  of  the  lead  plates  buried  by  Celoron. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society. 

king  was  proclaimed  owner  of  all  the  region  drained  by  the 
Ohio,  and  a  lead  plate  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  a  tree.  The 
inscription  on  the  plate  declared  that  the  Ohio  and  all  the  streams 
that  entered  it  and  the  land  on  both  sides  of  them  belonsred 
to  France. 

The  party  then  passed  down  the  Allegheny  to  the  Ohio,  and 
down  the  Ohio  to  the  Miami,  burying  plates  from  time  to  time.^ 

1  Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  Vol.  I,  pp.  20-34,  for  a  comparison 
of  the  French  and  English  colonies  in  America. 

2  One  of  these  plates  was  soon  found  by  the  Indians  and  sent  to  the  governor 
of  Pennsylvania.  Two  more  in  recent  years  were  found  projecting  from  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  by  boys  while  bathing  or  at  play. 


130 


RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


The  French  Forts. —  Formal  possession  having  been  taken, 
the  next  step  of  the  French  was  to  build  a  log  fort  at  Presque 
Isle  (on  Lake  Erie  where  the  city  of  Erie  now  is),  and  also 
Forts  Le  Boeuf  and  Venango,  on  a  branch  of  the  Allegheny. 

The  Ohio  Company.  —  But  the  English  colonists  likewise 
chiinied  the  Mississippi  valley,  by  virtue  of  the  old  "  sea  to  sea  " 

grants,  and  the  same  year  that 


10       20       SO     40      50 


N. 


Celoron  came  down  the  Alle- 
gheny, they  also  prepared  to 
take  possession  of  the  Ohio 
valley  in  a  much  more  serious 
way.  The  French  were  bury- 
ing plates  and  about  to  build 
forts;  the  English  were  about 
to  plant  towns  and  make  settle- 
ments. 

\  Already  in  Pennsylvania 
ana.  Virginia  population  was 
pushing  rapidly  westward.  Al- 
ready English  traders  crossed 
the  mountains  and  with  their 
goods  packed  on  horses  fol- 
lowed the  trails  down  the  Ohio 
valley,  going  from  village  to 
village  of  the  Indians  and  ex- 
changing their  wares  for  furs. 

Convinced  that  the  west- 
ward movement  of  trade  and 
population  was  favorable  for  a 

speculation  in  land,  some  prominent  men  in  Virginia  ^  formed 
J  the  Ohio  Company,  and  obtained  from  the  British  king  a  grant 

of  five  hundred  thousand  acres  in  the  Ohio  valley  on  condition 

that  within  seven  years  a  hundred  families  should  be  settled  on 

it  and  a  fort  built  and  garrisoned. 

1  Among  the  members  of  the  company  were  Governor  Dinwiddle  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  two  brothers  of  George  Washington. 


Early  forts  in  the  Ohio  valley. 


WARS  WITH  THE  FRENCH 


131 


Governor  Dinwiddie  Alarmed  —  When,  therefore,  Governor 
Dinwiddle  of  Virginia  heard  that  the  French  were  building 
forts  on  the  Allegheny,  he  became  greatly  alarmed,  and  sent  a 
messenger  to  demand  their  withdrawal.  But  the  envoy,  becom- 
ing frightened,  soon  turned  back.  Clearly  a  man  was  wanted, 
and  Dinwiddie  selected  George  Washington,^,  a  young  man  of 
twenty-one  and  an  officer  in  the  .Virginia  militia. 

Washington's  First  Public  Service.  —  Washington  was  to 
find  out  the  whereabouts  of  the  French,  proceed  to  the  French 
post,  deliver  a  letter  to 
the  officer  in  command, 
and  demand  an  answer. 
He  was  also  to  find  out 
how  many  forts  the 
French  had  built,  how 
far  apart  they  were,  how 
well  garrisoned,  and 
whether  they  were 
likely  to  be  supported 
from  Quebec. 

Having  received 
these  instructions,  Wash- 
ington made  his  way  in 
the  depth  of  winter  to 
Fort  Le  Boeuf,  delivered  the  governor's  letter,  and  brought 
back  the  refusal  of  the  French  officer  to  withdraw. ^ 

1  George  Washington  was  born  on  February  22, 1732,  at  Bridges  Creek,  in  Vir- 
ginia. At  fourteen  he  thought  seriously  of  going  to  sea,  but  became  a  surveyor, 
and  at  sixteen  was  sent  to  survey  part  of  the  vast  estate  of  Lord  Fairfax  which 
lay  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  He  lived  the  life  of  a  frontiersman,  slept  in  tents, 
in  cabins,  in  the  open,  and  did  his  work  so  well  that  he  was  made  a  public  sur- 
veyor. Tliis  position  gave  him  steady  occupation  for  three  years,  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  woodcraft  and  men  that  stood  him  in  good  stead  in  time  to  come.  When 
he  was  nineteen,  his  brother  Lawrence  procured  him  an  appointment  as  an 
adjutant  general  of  Virginia  with  the  rank  of  major,  a  post  he  held  in  October, 
1753,  when  Dinwiddie  sent  him,  accompanied  by  a  famous  frontiersman, 
Christopher  Gist,  to  find  the  French. 

2  On  the  way  home  Washington  left  his  men  in  charge  of  the  horses  and 
baggage,  put  on   Indian  walking  dress,  and  with  Christopher  Gist  set  off  by 


Washington  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf. 


MOM.   BRIEF- 


132  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

/  Fort  Duquesne  (1754).  —  Dinwiddle  now  realized  that  the 
*"  French  held  the  Allegheny,  and  that  if  they  were  to  be  shut 
out  of  the  Ohio  valley  something  had  to  be  done  at  once. 
He  therefore  sent  a  party  of  backwoodsmen  to  build  a  fort 
at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  (where  Pittsburg  now  is).  While 
they  were  at  work,  the  French  came  down  the  Allegheny,  cap- 
tured the  half-built  fort,  and  in  place  of  it  erected  a  larger 
one  which  they  named  Duquesne  (doo-kan'). 

Great  Meadows. — Meantime  Washington  had  been  sent 
with  some  soldiers  to  Wills  Creek  in  western  Maryland.  When 
he  heard  of  the  capture  of  the  fort,  he  started  westward,  cut- 
ting a  road  for  wagons  and  cannon  as  he  went,  and  camped 
for  a  time  at  Great  Meadows,  in  southwestern  Pennsylvania. 
There,  one  night,  he  received  word  from  Half  King,  a  friendly 
Indian  encamped  with  his  band  six  miles  away,  that  a  French 
force  was  hidden  near  at  hand.  Washington  with  some  forty 
men  set  off  at  once  for  the  Indian  camp,  and  reached  it  at  day- 
light. A  plan  of  attack  was  agreed  on,  and  the  march  begun. 
On  Washington's  approach,  the  French  flew  to  arms,  and  a 
sharp  fight  ensued  in  which  the  French  commander  Jumon- 
ville^  and  nine  of  his  men  were  killed]    "^"^         '     ' 

the  nearest  way  through  the  woods  on  foot.  "The  following  day,"  says  Washing- 
ton, in  his  account  of  the  journey,  "just  after  we  had  passed  a  place  called  Mur- 
dering town,  ...  we  fell  in  with  a  party  of  French  Indians,  who  had  lain  in 
wait  for  us.  One  of  them  fired  at  Mr.  Gist  or  me,  not  fifteen  steps  off,  but 
fortunately  missed."  The  next  day  they  came  to  a  river.  "  There  was  no  way 
of  getting  over  but  on  a  raft,  .  .  .  but  before  we  were  half  over  we  were  jammed 
in  the  ice.  ...  I  put  out  my  setting  pole  to  try  and  stop  the  raft  that  the  ice 
might  pass  by,  when  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  threw  it  with  such  force  against 
the  pole,  that  it  jerked  me  out  into  ten  feet  of  water,  but  I  fortunately  saved 
myself  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs."  They  were  forced  to  swim  to 
an  island,  and  next  day  crossed  on  the  ice.  Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,  Vol.  r,  pp.  132-136. 

1  The  French  claimed  that  Jumonville  was  the  bearer  of  a  dispatch  from 
the  commander  at  the  Ohio,  that  after  the  Virginians  fired  twice  he  made  a  sign 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter,  that  the  firing  ceased,  that  they  gathered 
about  him  and  while  he  was  reading  killed  him  and  his  companions.  Jumon- 
ville's  death  has  therefore  been  called  an  "assassination"  by  French  writers. 
The  story  rested  on  false  statements  made  by  Indians  friendly  to  the  French.  In 
reality,  there  is  ample  proof  that  Jumonville  made  no  attempt  to  deliver  any 
message  to  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  FRENCH  DRIVEN  FROM  AMERICA 


The  Situation  in  1754.  —  The  French  were  now  in  armed 
possession  of  the  Ohio  valley.  Their  chain  of  forts  bounded 
the  British  colonies  from  Lake  Champlain  to  Fort  Duquesne. 
Unless  they  were  dislodged,  all  hope  of  colonial  expansion  west- 
ward was  ended.  To  dislodge  them  meant  war,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  war  led  to  a  serious  attempt  to  unite  the  colonies. 

By  order  of  the  Lords  of  Trade,  a  convention  of  delegates 
from  the  colonies  ^  was  held  at  Albany  to  secure  by  treaty  and  , 
presents  the  friendship  of  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians  ;  it  would 
not  do  to  let  those  powerful  tribes  go  over  to  the  French  in  the 
coming  war.  After  treating  with  the  Indians,  the  convention 
proceeded  to  consider  the  question  whether  all  the  colonies 
could  not  be  united  for  defense  and  for  the  protection  of  their 
interests. 

Franklin's  Plan  of  Union.  —  One  of  the  delegates  was  Benja- 
min  Franklin.  In  his  newspaper,  the 
Philadelphia  Gazette^  he  had  urged 
union,  and  he  had  put  this  device  ^  at 
the  top  of  an  account  of  the  capture 
of  the  Ohio  fort  (afterward  Duquesne) 
by  the  French.  At  the  convention 
he  submitted  a  plan  of  union  calling 

for  a  president  general  and  a  grand  council  of  representatives 
from   the   colonies  to  meet  each  year.     They  were  to  make 

1  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  were  the  only  colonies  represented. 

2  There  was  an  old  superstition  that  if  a  snake  were  cut  into  pieces  and  the 
pieces  allowed  to  touch,  they  would  join  and  the  snake  would  not  die.  Franklin 
meant  that  unless  the  separate  colonies  joined  they  would  oe  conquered. 


132  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

/  Fort  Duquesne  (1754).  —  Dinwiddle  now  realized  that  the 
*  French  held  the  Allegheny,  and  that  if  they  were  to  be  shut 
out  of  the  Ohio  valley  something  had  to  be  done  at  once. 
He  therefore  sent  a  party  of  backwoodsmen  to  build  a  fort 
at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  (where  Pittsburg  now  is).  While 
they  were  at  work,  the  French  came  down  the  Allegheny,  cap- 
tured the  half-built  fort,  and  in  place  of  it  erected  a  larger 
one  which  they  named  Duquesne  (doo-kan'). 

Great  Meadows. — Meantime  Washington  had  been  sent 
with  some  soldiers  to  Wills  Creek  in  western  Maryland.  When 
he  heard  of  the  capture  of  the  fort,  he  started  westward,  cut- 
ting a  road  for  wagons  and  cannon  as  he  went,  and  camped 
for  a  time  at  Great  Meadows,  in  southwestern  Pennsylvania. 
There,  one  night,  he  received  word  from  Half  King,  a  friendly 
Indian  encamped  with  his  band  six  miles  away,  that  a  French 
force  was  hidden  near  at  hand.  Washington  with  some  forty 
men  set  off  at  once  for  the  Indian  camp,  and  reached  it  at  day- 
light. A  plan  of  attack  was  agreed  on,  and  the  march  begun. 
On  Washington's  approach,  the  French  flew  to  arms,  and  a 
sharp  fight  ensued  in  which  the  French  commander  Jumon- 
ville^  and  nine  of  his  men  were  killed.     **  "" 

the  nearest  way  through  the  woods  on  foot.  "The  following  day,"  says  "Washing- 
ton, in  his  account  of  the  journey,  "just  after  we  had  passed  a  place  called  Mur- 
dering town,  ...  we  fell  in  with  a  party  of  French  Indians,  who  had  lain  in 
wait  for  us.  One  of  them  fired  at  Mr.  Gist  or  me,  not  fifteen  steps  off,  but 
fortunately  missed."  The  next  day  they  came  to  a  river.  "  There  was  no  way 
of  getting  over  but  on  a  raft,  .  .  .  but  before  we  were  half  over  we  were  jammed 
in  the  ice.  ...  I  put  out  my  setting  pole  to  try  and  stop  the  raft  that  the  ice 
might  pass  by,  when  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  threw  it  with  such  force  against 
the  pole,  that  it  jerked  me  out  into  ten  feet  of  water,  but  I  fortunately  saved 
myself  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs."  They  were  forced  to  swim  to 
an  island,  and  next  day  crossed  on  the  ice.  Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,  Vol.  r,  pp.  132-136. 

1  The  French  claimed  that  Jumonville  was  the  bearer  of  a  dispatch  from 
the  commander  at  the  Ohio,  that  after  the  Virginians  fired  twice  he  made  a  sign 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter,  that  the  firing  ceased,  that  they  gathered 
about  him  and  while  he  was  reading  killed  him  and  his  companions.  Jumon- 
ville's  death  has  therefore  been  called  an  "assassination"  by  French  writers. 
The  story  rested  on  false  statements  made  by  Indians  friendly  to  the  French.  In 
reality,  there  is  ample  proof  that  Jumonville  made  no  attempt  to  deliver  any 
message  to  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  FRENCH   DRIVEN  FROM  AMERICA 


The  Situation  in  1754.  —  The  French  were  now  in  armed 
possession  of  the  Ohio  valley.  Their  chain  of  forts  bounded 
the  British  colonies  from  Lake  Champlain  to  Fort  Duquesne. 
Unless  they  were  dislodged,  all  hope  of  colonial  expansion  west- 
ward was  ended.  To  dislodge  them  meant  war,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  war  led  to  a  serious  attempt  to  unite  the  colonies. 

By  order  of  the  Lords  of  Trade,  a  convention  of  delegates 
from  the  colonies  ^  was  held  at  Albany  to  secure  by  treaty  and  ^ 
presents  the  friendship  of  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians  ;  it  would 
not  do  to  let  those  powerful  tribes  go  over  to  the  French  in  the 
coming  war.  After  treating  with  the  Indians,  the  convention 
proceeded  to  consider  the  question  whether  all  the  colonies 
could  not  be  united  for  defense  and  for  the  protection  of  their 
interests. 

FrankHn's  Plan  of  Union.  —  One  of  the  delegates  was  Benja- 
min  Franklin.  In  his  newspaper,  the 
Philadelphia  Gazette^  he  had  urged 
union,  and  he  had  put  this  device  ^  at 
the  top  of  an  account  of  the  capture 
of  the  Ohio  fort  (afterward  Duquesne) 
by  the  French.  At  the  convention 
he  submitted  a  plan  of  union  calling 
for  a  president  general  and  a  grand  council  of  representatives 
from   the   colonies  to  meet  each  year.     They  were  to  make 

1  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  were  the  only  colonies  represented. 

2  There  was  an  old  superstition  that  if  a  snake  were  cut  into  pieces  and  the 
pieces  allowed  to  touch,  they  would  join  and  the  snake  would  not  die.  Franklin 
meant  that  unless  the  separate  colonies  joined  they  would  oe  conquered. 

135 


136 


RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


treaties  with  the  Indians,  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  colonies  as 
a  whole,  levy  taxes,  build  forts,  and  raise  armies.  The  conven- 
tion adopted  the  plan,  but 
both  the  colonial  legisla- 
tures and  the  Lords  of 
Trade  in  London  rejected 
it.i 

The  Five  Points  of  At- 
tack.—  The  French  held 
five  strongholds,  which 
shut  the  British  out  of 
New  France  and  Louisi- 
ana, and  threatened  the 
English  colonies. 

1.  Louisburg  threat-  i 
ened   New  England  and 
Nova  Scotia. 

2.  Quebec  controlled 
the  St.  Lawrence. 

3.  Crown  Point  (and 
later     Ticonderoga),    on 

Lake  Champlain,  guarded  the  water  route  to  New  York  and 
threatened  the  Hudson  valley. 

1  Franklin  was  born  in  Boston  in  1706,  the  youngest  son  in  a  family  of 
seventeen  children.  He  went  to  work  in  his  father's  candle  shop  when  ten  years 
old.  He  was  fond  of  reading,  and  by  saving  what  little  money  he  could  secure, 
bought  a  few  books  and  read  them  thoroughly.  When  twelve,  he  was  bound 
apprentice  to  a  brother  who  was  a  printer.  At  seventeen  he  ran  away  to  Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  found  work  in  a  printing  office,  and  in  1729  owned  a  news- 
paper of  his  own,  which  soon  became  the  best  and  most  entertaining  in  the 
colonies.  His  most  famous  publication  is  Poor  Bichard''s  Almanac.  To  this 
day  the  proverbs  and  common  sense  sayings  of  Poor  Richard  are  constantly 
quoted.  Franklin  was  a  good  citizen:  he  took  part  in  the  founding  of  the  first 
public  library  in  Philadelphia,  the  formation  of  the  first  fire  engine  company, 
and  the  organization  of  the  first  militia,  and  he  persuaded  the  authorities  to  light 
and  pave  streets  and  to  establish  a  night  watch.  He  is  regarded  as  the  founder 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Franklin  was  also  a  man  of  science.  He 
discovered  that  lightning  is  electricity,  invented  the  lightning  rod,  and  wrote 
many  scientific  papers.  He  served  in  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
made  postmaster  general  for  the  colonies.     All  these  things  occurred  before  1754. 


Franklin,  at  the  age  of  70. 


THE  FRENCH  DRIVEN  FROM  AMERICA 


137 


4.  Niagara  guarded   the  portage   between   Lakes  Ontario 
and  Erie,  and  threatened  New  York  on  the  west. 

5.  Fort   Duquesne   controlled    the    Ohio    and    threatened 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

The  plan  of  the  British  was  to 
strengthen  their  hold  on  Nova  Scotia 
(Acadia),  and  to  attack  three  of  the 
French  strongholds  —  Crown  Point,  Ni- 
agara, and  Fort  Duquesne  —  at  the 
same  time. 

Acadia.  —  Late  in  May,  1755,  there- 
^  fore,  an  expedition  set  sail  from  Boston, 
made  its  Avay  up  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
captured  the  French  forts  at  the  head 
of  that  bay,  reduced  all  Acadia  to  Brit- 
ish rule,  and  tendered  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  French  Acadians.  This 
they  refused  to  take,  whereupon  they 
were  driven  on  board  ships  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  an.d  carried  off 
and  distributed  among  the  colonies.^ 

Crown  Point.  —  The  army  against 
Crown  Point,  composed  of  troops  from 
the  four  New  England  colonies  and 
New   York,   gathered  at  Albany,    and 


Forts  in  northern  New  York. 

under  command  of  William  Johnson  ^  marched  to  the  head  of 
Lake    George,    where    it    beat    the    French    under    Dieskau 


1  About  six  thousand  were  carried  off.  Nowhere  were  they  welcome.  Some 
who  were  taken  to  Boston  made  their  way  to  Canada.  Such  as  reached  South 
CaroHna  and  Georgia  were  given  leave  to  return  ;  but  seven  little  boatloads  were 
stopped  at  Boston,  Others  reached  Louisiana,  where  their  descendants  still 
live.  A  few  succeeded  in  returning  to  Acadia.  Do  not  fail  to  read  Longfellow's 
poem  Evangeline^  a  beautiful  story  founded  on  this  removal  of  the  Acadians. 
AVas  it  necessary  to  remove  the  Acadians  ?  Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,  Vol.  I,  pp.  234-241,  250-2(56,  276-284;  read  also  "The  Old  French 
War,"  Part  ii,  Chap,  viii,  in  Hawthorne's  Grandfather^s  Chair. 

•^  Sir  William  Johnson  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1715,  and  came  to  America  in 
1738  to  take  charge  of  his  uncle's  property  in  the  Mohawk  valley.     He  settled 


V 


138  RIVALS  OF  THE   ENGLISH 

(dees'kou),  and  built  Fort  William  Henry;  but  it  did  not 
reach  Crown  Point. 

Niagara.  —  A  third  army,  under  General  Shirley  of  Massa- 
chusetts, likewise  set  out  from  Albany,  and  pushing  across  New 
York  reached  Oswego,  when  all  thought  of  attacking  Niagara 
was  abandoned.  News  had  come  of  the  crushing  defeat  of 
Braddock. 

Braddock's  Defeat.  —  Under  the  belief  that  neither  colonial 
officers  nor  colonial  troops  were  of  much  account,  the  mother 
country  at  the  opening  of  the  war  sent  over  Edward  Braddock, 
one  of  her  best  officers,  and  two  regiments  of  regulars.  Brad- 
dock came  to  Virginia,  appointed  Washington  one  of  his  aids, 
and  having  gathered  some  provincial  troops,  set  off  from  Fort 
Cumberland  in  Maryland  for  Fort  Duquesne.  The  country  to 
be  traversed  was  a  wilderness.  No  road  led  through  the  woods, 
so  the  troops  were  forced  to  cut  one  as  they  went  slowly  west- 
ward (map,  p.  144). 

On  July  9,  1755,  when  some  eight  miles  from  Fort  Du- 
quesne, those  in  the  van  suddenly  beheld  what  seemed  to  be  an 
Indian  coming  toward  them,  but  was  really  a  French  officer 
with  a  band  of  French  and  Indians  at  his  back.  The  mo- 
ment he  saw  the  British  he  stopped  and  waved  his  hat  in  the 
air,  whereupon  his  followers  disappeared  in  the  bushes  and 
opened  fire.  The  British  returned  the  fire  and  stood  their 
ground  manfully,  but  as  they  could  not  see  their  foe,  while 
their  scarlet  coats  afforded  a  fine  target,  they  were  shot  down 
by  scores,  lost  heart,  huddled  together,  and  when  at  last  Brad- 
dock was  forced   to  order  a  retreat,  broke  and  flled.^ 

about  twenty  miles  west  of  Schenectady,  and  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade.  He 
dealt  honestly  with  the  Indians,  learned  their  language,  attended  their  feasts, 
and,  tomahawk  in  hand,  danced  their  dances  in  Indian  dress.  He  even  took  as 
his  wife  a  sister  of  Brant,  a  Mohawk  chief.  So  great  was  his  influence  with  the 
Indians  that  in  1746  he  was  made  Commissary  of  New  York  for  Indian  Affairs. 
In  1750  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  provincial  Council,  went  to  the  Albany 
convention  in  1754,  and  later  was  appointed  a  major  general.  After  the  expedi- 
tion against  Crown  Point  he  was  knighted  and  made  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs  in  North  America.     He  died  in  1774. 

1  It  is  sometimes  said  that  Braddock  fell  into  an  ambuscade.    This  is  a  mis- 


THE  FRENCH  DRIVEN  FROM  AMERICA  139 

Braddock  was  wounded  just  as  the  retreat  began,  and  died 
as  the  army  was  hurrying  back  to  Fort  Cumberland,  and  lest 
the  Indians  should  find  his  grave,  he  was  buried  in  the  road, 
and  all  traces  of  the  grave  were  obliterated  by  the  troops 
and  wagons  passing  over  it.  From  Fort  Cumberland  the 
British  marched  to  Philadelphia,  and  the  whole  frontier  was 
left  to  the  mercy  of  the  French  and  Indians. 

French  Victories.  —  War  parties  were  sent  out  from  Fort 
Duquesne  in  every  direction,  settlement  after  settlement  was 
sacked,  and  before  November  the  Indians  were  burning,  plun- 
dering, massacring,  scalping  within  eighty  miles  of  Philadel- 
phia. During  the  two  following  years  (1756—57),  the  French  ^ 
were  all  energy  and  activity,  and  the  British  were  hard 
pressed.2  Oswego  and  Fort  William  Henry  were  captured,^ 
and  the  New  York  frontier  was  ravaged  by  the  French. 

British  Victories  (1758). — And  now  the  tide  turned. 
William  Pitt,  one  of  the  great  Englishmen  of  his  day,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  public  affairs  in  Great  Britain,  and  de- 
voted himself  wdth  all  his  energy  to  the  conduct  of  the  war. 
He  chose  better  commanders,  infused  enthusiasm  into  men  and 

take.  He  was  surprised  because  he  did  not  send  scouts  ahead  of  his  army  ;  but 
the  Indians  were  not  in  ambush.  Braddock  would  not  permit  the  "troops  to 
fight  in  Indian  fashion  from  behind  trees  and  bushes,  but  forced  his  men  to 
form  in  platoons.  A  part  of  the  regulars  who  tried  to  fight  behind  trees  Brad- 
dock beat  with  his  sword  and  forced  into  line.  Some  Virginians  who  sought 
shelter  behind  a  huge  fallen  tree  were  mistaken  for  the  enemy  and  fired  on.  In 
the  fight  and  after  it  Washington  was  most  prominent.  Twice  a  horse  was  shot 
under  him.  Four  bullets  passed  through  his  clothes.  When  the  retreat  began, 
he  rallied  the  fugitives,  and  brought  off  the  wounded  Braddock. 

2  War  between  France  and  Great  Britain  was  declared  in  May,  1756.  In 
Europe  it  was  known  as  the  Seven  Years'  War;  in  America  as  the  French 
and  Indian.  On  the  side  of  France  were  Russia  and  Austria.  On  the  side 
of  Great  Britain  was  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia.  The  fighting  went  on  not 
only  in  America,  but  in  the  West  Indies,  on  the  European  Continent,  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  in  India. 

3  When  the  colonial  troops  surrendered  Fort  William  Henry,  the  French 
commander,  Montcalm,  agreed  that  they  should  return  to  their  homes  in  safety. 
But  the  Indians,  maddened  by  liquor,  massacred  a  large  number,  and  carried  off 
some  six  hundred  prisoners.  Montcalm  finally  secured  the  release  of  some  four 
hundred.  Cooper's  novel  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  treats  of  the  war  about  Lake 
George. 


140 


RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


officers  alike,  and  the  result  was  a  series  of  victories.  A  fleet 
of  frigates  and  battleships,  with  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men, 
captured  Louisburg.     Three  thousand  provincials  in  open  boats 

crossed  Lake  Ontario, 

^  "^  f'Ui*:''C^*f  '^^^^^^^f^  ,^1^^1-0^ 

/■t^a,  .rx^oc  -^^x^^Tt  t::/ '^'^c^f^ie^^^  -t^  :7^  ^/ Cr 


Letter  written  by  Washington's  mother. 


y^/if^ 


^3^^'- 


took  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  thus  cut  communi- 
cation between  Que- 
bec and  the  Ohio.  A 
third  expedition,  un-  ^ 
der  Forbes  and  Wash- 
ington, marched  slowly 
across  Pennsylvania,  to 
find  Fort  Duquesne  in  /  -t 
ruins  and  the  French 
gone.^ 

Victories  of  1759. — 
Two  of  the  five  strong- 
holds (Louisburg  and 
Fort  Duquesne)  were 
now  under  the  British 
flag,  and  the  next  year 
(1759)  the  three  others 


In  the  possession  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society 

met  a  like  fate.     An  expedition  under  Prideaux  (prid'o)  and 

I   Sir  William  Johnson  captured  Fort  Niagara  ;   an  army  under 

/,   Amherst  took  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;    and  a  fleet  and 

army  led  by  Wolfe,  a  young  officer  distinguished  at  Louisburg, 

took  Quebec. 

Quebec,  1759.  —  The  victory  at  Quebec  was  the  greatest  of 
the  war.     The  fortress  w^as  the  strongest  in  America,  and  stood  * 


1  Instead  of  using  the  road  cut  by  Braddock,  Forbes  chose  another  route, 
(map,  p.  144),  and  spent  much  time  in  road  making.  Late  in  September  he  was 
still  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne,  and  decided  to  go  into  winter  quarters.  But 
the  French  attacked  Forbes  and  were  beaten ;  and  from  some  prisoners  Forbes 
learned  that  the  garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne  was  weak.  A  picked  force  of  men, 
with  Washington  and  his  Virginians  in  the  lead,  then  hurried  forward,  and 
reached  the  fort  to  find  it  abandoned.  A  new  stockade  was  built  near  by,  and 
named  Fort  Pitt,  and  the  place  was  named  Pittsburg. 


THE  FRENCH   DRIVEN    FROxM  AMERICA 


141 


121 


on  the  crest  of  a  liigli  cliff  which  rose  from  the  waters  of  the 
St.  Lawrence.  The  French  commander,  Montcalm,  was  a  brave 
and  able  soldier.  But  one  night  in  September,  1759,  the  Brit- 
ish general,  Wolfe,  led  his 
army  up  the  steep  cliff  west 
of  the  city,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing formed  in  battle  array  on 
the  Plains  of  Abraham.  A 
great  battle  followed.  Both 
Wolfe  and  Montcalm  were 
killed  ;  but  the  British'won, 
and  Quebec  has  ever  since 
been  under  their  flag.  Mont- 
real fell  the  nextjearQTGO), 
and  Canada  was  conquered. ^ 

Spain  cedes  Florida  to  Great  Britain.  —  In  the  spring  of  1761, 
France  made  proposals  of  peace ;  but  while  the  negotiation 
was  under  way,  Spain  allied  herself  with  France,  and  was  soon 
dragged  into  the  war.  The  British  thereupon  captured  Havana 
and  Manila  (1762),  and  thus  became  for  a  short  time  masters  of 
Cuba  and  the  Philippines.  A  few  weeks  later  preliminary 
articles  of  peace  were  signed  (November,  1762),  and  the  final 
(or  definitive)  treaty  in  1763.  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  Great 
Britain  in  return  for  Cuba.  News  of  the  capture  of  the  Philip- 
pines was  not  received  till  after  the  preliminary  treaty  was 
signed  ;  the  islands  were  therefore  returned  without  any  equiv- 
alent.2 

The  French  quit  America.  —  By  the  treaties  of  1762  and 
1763  France  withdrew  from  America.  ~^^^ 

To  Great  Britain  were  ceded  (1)  all  of  New  France  (or 
Canada),  Cape  Breton  Island,  and  all  the  near-by  islands  save 
two  small  ones  near  Newfoundland,  and  (2)  all  of  Louisiana  east 

1  Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  Vol.  II,  pp.  280-297.  The  fall  of 
Quebec  is  treated  in  fiction  in  Gilbert  Parker's  Seats  of  the  Mighty. 

2  When  Manila  was  captured,  all  private  property  was  saved  from  plunder 
by  the  promise  of  a  ransom  of  £1,000,000.  One  half  was  paid  in  money,  and 
the  rest  in  bills  on  the  Spanish  treasury.     Spain  never  paid  these  bills. 


85         Longitude 


West        from    75         Greenwich 
"142 


THE  FRENCH  DRIVEN   FROM  AMERICA  143 

of  the  Mississippi  save  the  city  of  New  Orleans  and  a  little 
territory  above  and  below  the  city. 

To  recompense  Spain  for  her  loss  in  the  war,  France  ceded 
to  her  New  Orleans  and  the  neighboring  territory,  and  all  of 
Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  Province  of  Quebec. — The  acquisition  of  New  France 
made  it  necessary  for  Great  Britain  to  provide  for  its  govern- 
ment. To  do  this  she  drew  a  line  about  the  part  inhabited  by 
whites,  and  established  the  province  of  Quebec.  The  south 
boundary  of  the  new  province  should  be  carefully  observed, 
for  it  became  the  northern  boundary  of  New  York  and  New 
England. 

The  Proclamation  Line.  —  The  proclamation  which  created 
the  province  of  Quebec  also  drew  a  line  "  beyond  the  sources 
of  the  rivers  which  flow  into  the  Atlantic  from  the  west  and 
northwest "  :  beyond  this  line  no  governor  of  any  of  the  colo- 
nies was  to  grant  land.  This  meant  that  the  king  cut  off  the 
claims  to  western  lands  set  forth  in  the  charters  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  Virginia,  Carolina,  and  Georgia.  The 
territory  so  cut  off  was  for  the  present  to  be  reserved  for  the 
Indians. 

The  Provinces  of  East  and  West  Florida.  —  The  proclamation 
of  1763  also  created  two  other  provinces.  One  called  East 
Florida  was  so  much  of  the  present  state  of  Florida  as  lies  east 
of  the  Apalachicola  River.  West  Florida  was  all  the  territory 
received  from  Spain  west  of  the  Apalachicola.  ^ 

To  Georgia  Avas  annexed  the  territory  between  the  St. 
Marys  River,  the  proclajnation  line,  and  the  Altamaha. 

The  Frontier.  —  British  settlements  did  not  yet  reach  the 
Allegheny  ^lountains.  In  New  York  they  extended  a  short 
distance  up  the  Mohawk  River.  In  Pennsylvania  the  little 
town  of  Bedford,  in  Maryland  Fort  Cumberland,  and  in  Vir- 
ginia the  Allegheny  Mountains  marked  the  frontier  (p.  144). 

1  The  north  boundary  was  the  parallel  of  31°  ;  but  in  1764  West  Florida  was 
enlarged,  and  the  north  boundary  became  the  parallel  of  latitude  that  passes 
through  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  River. 


144 


RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 


The  Wilderness  Routes  and  Forts. —  Tliroiigh  the  wilderness 
lying  beyond  the  frontier  ran  several  lines  of  forts  intended 
to  protect  routes  of  communication.  Thus  in  New  York  the 
route  up  the  Mohawk  to  Oneida  Lake  and  down  Oswego 
River  to  Lake  Ontario  was  protected  by  Forts  Stanwix, 
Brewerton,  and  Oswego.  From  Fort  Oswego  the  route  con- 
tinued by  water  to  Fort  Niagara  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 


C    \  N    \  I)    \ 


..\       ^<Vl/^'P''   N   I   A 


Wilderness  routes  and  forts. 


that  name,  then  along  the  Niagara  River  and  by  Lake  Erie  to 
Presque  Isle,  then  by  land  to  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  then  by  river 
to  Fort  Pitt. 

From  Fort  Pitt  two  roads  led  back  to  the  frontier.  One 
leading  to  the  Potomac  valley  was  that  cut  from  Fort  Cum- 
berland by  Braddock  (in  1755)  and  known  as  Braddock's  Road. 
The  other  to  Bedford  on  tlie  Pennsylvania  frontier  was  cut 
by  General  Forbes  (in  1758). 

Along  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lakes  were  a  few  forts  built 


THE  FRENCH  DRIVEN  FROM  AMERICA 


145 


by  the  French  and  now  held  by  the  British.     These  were  San- 
dusky, Detroit,  Mackinaw,  and  St.  Joseph. 

Pontiac's  War.  —  Between  this  chain  of  forts  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  in  the  region  given  up  by  France,  lived  many 
tribes  of  Indians,  old  friends  of  the  French  and  bitter  enemies 
of  the  British.  The  old  enmity  was  kept  aflame  by  the  French 
Canadians,  who  still  carried  on  the  fur  trade  with  the  Indians.^ 


Old  Fort  Niagara. 

When,   therefore,  Fontiac,  a  chief   of   the    Ottawas,  in   IJSS  ^ 
sent  out  among  the  Indian  nations  ambassadors  with  the  war 
belt  of  wampum,  and  tomahawks  stained  red  in  token  of  war, 
the  tribes  everywhere  responded  to  the  call.^     From  the  Ohio 

1  They  told  the  Indians  that  the  British  would  soon  be  driven  out,  and  that 
the  Mississippi  River  and  Canada  would  again  be  in  French  hands  ;  that  the 
British  were  trying  to  destroy  the  Indian  race,  and  for  this  purpose  were  build- 
ing forts  and  making  settlements. 

2  Read  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  ;  Kirk  Munroe's  At  War  icith 
Fontiac. 


146  RIVALS  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

and  its  tributaries  to  the  upper  lakes,  and  southward  to  the 
mouth  of  tlie  Mississippi,  they  banded  against  the  British,  and 
early  in  1763,  led  by  Pontiac,  swept  down  on  the  frontier  forts. 
Detroit  was  attacked,  Presque  Isle  was  captured,  Le  Boeuf  and 
Venango  were  burned  to  the  ground.  Fort  Pitt  was  besieged, 
and   the  frontier  of    Pennsylvania   laid  waste.       Of   fourteen 

,,  posts  from  Mackinaw  to  Oswego,  all  but  four  were  taken  by 
the  Indians.  .  It  seemed  that  not  a  settler  would  be  left  west 
of  the  Susquehanna ;  but  a  little  army  under  Colonel  Bouquet 
beat  the  Indians,  cleared  the  Pennsylvania  frontier,  and  relieved 

l/Fort  Pitt  in  1763;  another  army  in  1764  passed  along  the  lake 
shore  to  Detroit  and  quieted  the  Indians  in  that  region,  while 
Bouquet  (1764)  invaded  the  Ohio  country,  forced  the  tribes  to 
submit,  and  released  two  hundred  white  prisoners. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  war  which  followed  the  defeat  of  Washington  is  known  as  the 
French  and  Indian  War. 

2.  Fearing  that  the  French  Acadians  in  Nova  Scotia  would  become 
troublesome,  the  British  dispersed  them  among  the  colonies. 

3.  The  strongholds  of  the  French  were  Louisburg,  Quebec,  Crown 
Point,  Niagara,  and  Fort  Duquesne. 

4.  The  first  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne  ended  in  Braddock's 
defeat;  expeditions  against  other  strongholds  came  to  naught,  and  during 
the  early  years  of  the  war  the  French  carried  everything  before  them. 

5.  But  when  Pitt  rose  to  power  in  England,  the  tide  turned :  Louis- 
burg and  Fort  Duquesne  were  captured  (in  1758)  ;  Niagara,  Ticonderoga, 
Crown  Point,  and  Quebec  were  taken  (in  1759);    and  Montreal  fell  in  1760. 

6.  Spain  now  joined  in  the  war,  whereupon  Great  Britain  seized  Cuba 
and  the  Philippines. 

7.  Peace  was  made  in  1762-63  :  the  conquests  from  Spain  were  restored 
to  her,  but  Florida  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain ;  and  France  gave  up  her 
possessions  in  North  America. 

8.  Canada,  Cape  Breton,  and  all  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi,  save 
New  Orleans  and  vicinity,  went  to  Great  Britain. 

9.  New  Orleans  and  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi  went  to  Spain. 

10.  Great  Britain  then  established  the  new  provinces  of  Quebec  and 
East  and  West  Florida,  and  drew  the  Proclamation  Line. 

11.  A  great  Indian  uprising,  known  as  Pontiac 's  War,  followed  the 
peace,  but  was  quickly  put  down. 


CHAPTER  XTI 
THE   QUARREL   WITH   THE  MOTHER   COUNTRY 

The  French  and  Indian  War  gave  the  colonists  valuable 
training  as  soldiers,  freed  them  from  the  danger  of  attack  by 
their  Frencli  neighbors,  and  so  made  them  less  dependent  on 
Great  Britain  for  protection.  But  the  mother  country  took  no 
account  of  this,  and  at  once  began  to  do  things  which  in  ten 
years'  time  drove  the  colonies  into  rebellion. 

Causes  of  the  Quarrel.  —  We  are  often  told  that  taxation  ^. 
without  representation  was  the  cause  of  the  Revolution.      It 
was  indeed  one  cause,  and  a  very  important  one,  but  not  the 
only  one  by  any  means.      The  causes  of  the  Revolution,  as 
stated  in  the  Declaration   of    Independence,  were   many,   and 
arose  chiefly  from  an  attempt  of  the  mother  country  to  (1)  en-  i 
force  the  laws  concerning  trade,  (2)  quarter  royal  troops  in  the   i_^ 
colonies,^  and  (3)  support  the  troops  by  taxes  imposed  without  9 
consent  of  the  colonies. 

The  Trade  Laws  were  enacted  by  Parliament  between  1650 
and  1764  for  tlie  purpose  of  giving  Great  Britain  a  monopoly 
of  colonial  trade.     By  their  provisions  — 

1.  No  goods  were  to  be  carried  from  any  port  in  Europe  to    I 
America  unless  first  landed  in  England. 

2.  Many  articles  of  colonial  production,  as  tobacco,  cotton, 
silk,  indigo,  furs,  rice,  sugar,  could  not  be  sent  to  any  country    V 
save  England  ;  but  lumber,  salt  fish,  and  provisions  could  be 
sent  also  to  France,  Spain,  or  other  foreign  countries. 

3.  To  help  English  wool  manufacture,  the  colonists  were     ^ 
forbidden  to  send  their  woolen  goods  or  hats  to  any  country 
whatever,  or  even  from  colony  to  colony. 

^That  is,  compel  the  colonists  to  furnish  quarters  —  rooms  or  houses  —  for 
the  troops  to  live  in.    Read  Parkman's  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  Vol.  I,  pp.  439-440. 

147 


148  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

4.  To  help  English  iron  manufacture,  the  colonists  were 
forbidden  to  make  steel. 

5.  To  help  the  British  West  Indies,  a  heavy  duty  was  laid 
(in  1733)  on  sugar  or  molasses  imported  from  any  other  than 
a  British  possession. 

Smuggling.  —  Had  these  laws  been  rigidly  enforced  they 
would  have  been  severe  indeed,  but  they  could  not  be  rigidly 
enforced.  They  were  openly  violated,  and  smuggling  became 
so  common  in  every  colony  ^  that  the  cost  of  collecting  the 
revenue  was  much  more  than  the  amount  gathered. 

This  smuggling  the  British  government  now  determined 
to  end.  Accordingly,  in  1764,  the  colonies  were  ordered  to 
stop  all  unlawful  trade,  naval  vessels  were  stationed  off  the 
coast  to  seize  smugglers,  and  new  courts,  called  vice-admiralty 
courts,  were  set  up  in  which  smugglers  when  caught  were  to 
be  tried  without  a  jury.^ 

A  Standing  Army.  —  It  was  further  proposed  to  send  over 
ten  thousand  regular  soldiers  to  defend  the  colonies  against 
the  Indians  and  against  any  attack  that  might   be   made   by 

iln  order  to  detect  and  seize  smugglers  the  crown  had  resorted  to  "writs 
of  assistance."  The  law  required  that  every  ship  bringing  goods  to  America 
should  come  to  some  established  port  and  that  her  cargo  should  be  reported  at 
the  customhouse.  Instead,  the  smugglers  would  secretly  land  goods  elsewhere. 
If  a  customs  officer  suspected  this,  he  could  go  to  court  and  ask  for  a  search 
warrant,  stating  the  goods  for  which  he  was  to  seek  and  the  place  to  be 
searched.  But  this  would  give  the  smugglers  warning  and  they  could  remove 
the  goods.  What  the  officers  wanted  was  a  general  warrant  good  for  any  goods 
in  any  place.  This  writ  of  assistance,  as  it  was  called,  was  common  in  England, 
and  was  issued  in  the  colonies  about  1754,  In  1760  King  George  II  died,  and 
all  writs  issued  in  his  name  expired.  In  1761,  therefore,  application  was  made 
to  the  Superior  Court  of  Massachusetts  for  a  new  writ  of  assistance  to  run  in 
the  name  of  King  George  III.  Sixty  merchants  opposed  the  issue,  and  James 
Otis  and  Oxenbridge  Thacher  appeared  for  the  merchants.  The  speech  of  Otis 
was  a  famous  plea,  sometimes  called  the  beginning  of  colonial  resistance ;  but 
the  court  granted  the  writ. 

2  These  acts  are  complained  of  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
king  is  blamed  "  For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world,"  that  is, 
enforcing  the  trade  laws;  again,  "He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices, 
and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people,"  that  is  to  say,  the 
vice-admiralty  judges. and  naval  officers  sworn  to  act  as  customhouse  officers  and 
seize  smugglers.     In  doing  this  duty  these  officers  did  "  harass  our  people." 


THE  QUARREL  WITH  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY 


149 


France  or  Spain.  The  colonists  objected  to  tlie  troops  on 
the  ground  that  they  had  not  asked  for  soldiers  and  did  not 
need  any. 

The  Stamp  Act.  —  As  the  cost  of  keep- 
ing the  troops  would  be  very  great,  it  was 
decided  to  raise  part  of  the  money  needed 
,by  a  stamp  tax  which  Parliament  enacted 

^'  in  1765.  The  Stamp  Act  applied  not  only 
to  the  thirteen-  colonies,  but  also  to  Can- 

w^  ada,  Florida,  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
was  to  take  effect  on  and  after  November 
1,  1765.1 

1.  Every  piece  of  vellum  or  paper  on 
which   was   written   any  legal   document 

^  for  use  in  any  court  was  to  be  charged 
with  a  stamp  duty  of  from  three  pence  to 
ten  pounds. 

2.  Many  kinds  of  documents  not  used 
in  court,  and  newspapers,  almanacs,  etc., 

Z-   were  to  be   written   or   printed   only   on 

stamped  paper  made  in  England  and  sold  at  prices  fixed  by 
law. 

The  money  raised  by  the  stamp  tax  was  not  to  be  taken  to 
Great  Britain,  but  was  to  be  spent  in  the  colonies  in  the  pur- 
chase of  food  and  supplies  for  the  troops. 

The  Colonies  deny  the  Right  of  Parliament  to  tax  them.  — 
But  the  colonists  cared  not  for  what  use  the  money  was  in- 
tended.    "  No  taxation  without  representation,"  was  their  cry. 


British  soldier. 


1  "While  the  Stamp  Act  was  under  debate  in  Parliament,  Colonel  Barr^,  who 
fought  under  Wolfe  at  Louisburg,  opposed  it.  A  member  had  spoken  of  the 
colonists  as  "children  planted  by  our  care,  nourished  by  our  indulgence,  and 
protected  by  our  arms."  "They  planted  by  your  care!"  said  Barr^.  "No, 
your  oppression  planted  them  in  America.  Nourished  by  your  indulgence  1 
They  grew  up  by  your  neglect  of  them.  They  protected  by  your  arms  !  These 
Sons  of  Liberty  have  nobly  taken  up  arms  in  your  defense."  The  words  "Sons 
of  Liberty"  were  at  once  seized  on,  and  used  in  our  country  to  designate  the 
opponents  of  the  stamp  tax.  Read  "The  Stamp  Act"  in  Hawthorne's  Grand- 
father's Chair. 


150  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

They  cast  no  votes  for  a  member  of  Parliament ;  therefore, 
they  said,  they  were  not  represented  in  Parliament.  Not 
being  represented,  they  could  not  be  taxed  by  Parliament, 
because  taxes  could  lawfully  be  laid  on  them  only  by  their 
chosen  representatives.^ 

In  the  opinion  of  the  British  people  the  colonists  were 
represented  in  Parliament.  British  subjects  in  America,  it  was 
held,  were  just  as  much  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons 
as  were  the  people  of  Manchester  or  Birmingham,  neither  of 
which  sent  a  member  to  the  House.  Each  member  of  the 
House  represented  not  merely  the  few  men  who  elected  him, 
but  all  the  subjects  of  the  British  crown  everywhere. ^ 

The  Colonies  Resist.  —  Resistance  to  the  Stamp  Act  began 
in  Virginia,  where  the  House  of  Burgesses  passed  a  set  of 
resolutions  written  by  Patrick   Henry.^      In  substance   they 


1  The  colonists  did  not  deny  the  right  of  Parliament  to  regulate  the  trade 
of  the  whole  British  Empire,  and  to  lay  "external  taxes"  —  customs  duties  — 
for  the  purpose  of  regulating  trade.  But  this  stamp  tax  was  an  "internal 
tax "  for  the  purpose  of  raising  revenue. 

2  Parliament  was  divided  then,  as  now,  into  two  houses  —  the  Lords,  con- 
sisting of  nobles  and  clergy,  and  the  Commons,  consisting  then  of  two  members 
elected  by  each  county  and  two  elected  by  each  of  certain  towns.  Some  change 
was  made  in  the  list  of  towns  thus  represented  in  Parliament  before  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  no  change  had  been  made  since,  though  many  of  them  had  lost  all 
or  most  of  their  population.  Thus  Old  Sarum  had  become  a  green  mound  ;  its 
population  had  all  drifted  away  to  Salisbury.  A  member  of  the  Commons, 
so  the  story  runs,  once  said  :  "I  am  the  member  from  Ludgesshall.  I  am  also 
the  population  of  Ludgesshall.  When  the  sheriff's  writ  comes,  I  announce 
the  election,  attend  the  poll,  deposit  my  vote  for  myself,  sign  the  return,  and 
here  I  am."  When  a  town  disappeared,  the  landowner  of  the  soil  on  which 
it  once  stood  appointed  the  two  members.  Such  towns  were  called  "rotten 
boroughs,"  "  pocket  boroughs,"  "nomination  boroughs." 

3  Patrick  Henry  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1736.  As  a  youth  he  was  dull  and 
indolent  and  gave  no  sign  of  coming  greatness.  After  two  failures  as  a  store- 
keeper and  one  as  a  farmer  he  turned  in  desperation  to  law,  read  a  few  books, 
and  with  difficulty  passed  the  examination  necessary  for  admittance  to  the  bar. 
Henry  had  now  found  his  true  vocation.  Business  came  to  him,  and  one  day  in 
1763  he  argued  the  weak  (but  popular)  side  of  a  case  with  such  eloquence  that 
he  carried  court  and  jury  with  him,  and  it  is  said  was  carried  out  of  the  court- 
house on  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  He  was  now  famous,  and  in  1765  was 
elected  to  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  to  represent  the  county  in  which  he 
had  lived,  just  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings  on  the  Stamp  Act.     His  part 


THE  QUARREL  WITH  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY 


151 


declared  that  the  colonists  were  British  subjects  and  were  not 
bound  to  obey  any  law  taxing  them  without  the  consent  of 
their  own  lesfislatures. 


)m-m 

Patrick  Henry  addressing  the  Virginia  Assembly.     From  an  old  print. 

Massachusetts  came  next  with  a  call  for  a  congress  of  dele- 
gates from  the  colonies,  to  meet  at  New  York  in  October. 

The  Stamp  Act  Congress,  1765. — Nine  of  the  colonies  sent 
delegates,  and  after  a  session  of  twenty  days  the  representa- 
tives of   six   signed  a   declaration  of   rights  and  grievances. 

The  declaration  of  rights  set  forth  that  a  British  subject 
could  not  be  taxed  unless  he  was  represented  in  the  legislature 
that  imposed  the  tax  ;  that  Americans  were  not  represented  in 
Parliament ;  and  that  therefore  the  stamp  tax  was  an  attack  on 
the  rights  of  Englishmen  and  the  liberty  of  self-government. 

was  to  move  the  resolutions  and  support  them  in  a  fiery  and  eloquent  speech, 
of  which  one  passage  has  been  preserved.  Recalling  the  fate  of  tyrants  of  other 
times,  he  exclaimed,  "  Ciesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and 
George  the  Third  — ."  "  Treason  !  treason  !  "  shouted  the  Speaker.  "  Treason  1 
treason  !  "  shouted  the  members.  To  which  Henry  answered,  "and  George  the 
Third  may  profit  by  their  example.     If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it." 

McM.   BRIEF —  10 


v^ 


152 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


The  grievances  complained  of  were  trial  without  jury,  re- 
strictions on  trade,  taxation  without  representation,  and  espe- 
cially the  stamp  tax. 

The  Stamp  Distributers.  —  In  August,  1765,  the  names  of 
the  men  in  America  chosen  to  be  the  distributers  or  sellers  of 
the  stamps  and  stamped  paper  were  made  public,  and  then  the 
people  began  to  act.  Demands  were  made  that  the  distribu- 
ters should  resign.  When  they  refused,  the  people  rose  and 
by  force  compelled  them  to  resign,  and  riots  occurred  in  the 
chief  seaboard  towns  from  New  Hampshire  to  Maryland.  At 
Boston  the  people  broke  into  the  house  of  the  lieutenant 
governor   and   destroyed   his   fine    library   and   papers. 


ThmCd2y,0(7airjt,  ijC^S'  THE  NUMB,  itgj 

IPENNSYLVANIA  JOURNAL; 

AND 

WEEKLY    ADA^ERTISER. 

»nBtt»w  II     II    — B— ^^^— —i— M^— ^MBwagi^B»» 

EXPIRING:     In  Hope's  of  a  Rcfurreaioij  to  Life  again. 


AM  Torry  to  be  obliged 
to  acquaint  my  Read- 
er!, that  as  The  Stamp- 
Act,  kfeir'dtobe* 
ligatory  opon  us  after 
tbeFirftf  Nroenhtren- 
fuing,  (iht/etalTe-mcr- 
-fa)  Ae  p-jblilherof  thij  Paper  unable  to 
•Jit  the  Burthen,  has  thought  it  expedient 
-.Oi-nr  awhile,  inoriler  lodelibcratc, whe- 
ther any  Methods  can  be  found  to  elude  the 
ChJfts  forged  for  us,  and  efcape  the  inlup- 
oortablc  Slavery ;  which  it  is  IxjpeiJ,  frcnn 
:h«juft  K»prcicrtition5  row  rhrJe  againft ; 
thctAO,  may  be  ef.ccteJ.  hU^n  while, 
I  iWft  eai-neilly   Requtil  every  lnJividu=l 


■  under 

■  •he  in 

Ditan. 


And  »  an  polirirjil  Diforden  the  more  contcntrd  wt  »rr 

"     '     fo  much  the  worlc  are  th*y,  aitd  fo  mud' 

he  iwHt  an  we  for  fticm.    It  it  i  ttry  bxppy  Cirtum- 

poblic  Virloe  »nd  puMic  Spirit,    ibil 

Aii,  the  iioTt  UlaHrioui  it  >l«i>yi  >p 

«*n.    No  FiMwoJ  brmd  Mpant  it  c»n  profptr,  for  it 

t  oner  denfir  Uld  confuirt  the  darkell  ami  moft  invcte- 

Caloiwiy.    Bat  sUhotigh  public  Vinue  cannr't  be 

■  by  the  Jnduljei-ce  of  thf  moft  uultmiirtl  t  in 

'ma  ct  ftentling  nr  vritinf,  )el  Opi'lriri'ii  >»d  T)  ran 

tv  jl  if  derivei  all  in  InSuoice  frcm  iti  ieirccy.  may  If 

xarelhdf  bent-6ted  by  tbe  Reveile.    For  iti>t  tc  (nu.  in 

rounrrUa  rubiaa<  il  to  the  inlatiabic  Demandi  u(  PIfltn 

nd  A'arice,  ihcr  tirft  Attimpti  to  iofpiie  Ptcple  »itk,V 

a1*  Sei-fe  of  llitir  Coj»JiM..n,  are  cumtnonly  nipt  iiitbe 

Bud.     It  il  oftliel«ftln»portii.celo  the\ie»iof  diftpo 

itif  Mfii  to  ttiut  op  tbt  iiioft  loccciful  aid  um'jtilal 

t-taiir.clof  Iiitonnaiictiffomihe  Teupic.  »!.<■«  It<y«rt 

r.lniinj  Inch  Schnmi  u  need  only  tu  U  l.II'.«n  m  of - 

.■11   tj  be  OppoleJ.     Befidfi  the  I>tpii<  a'iott  «f>Dur 

"  l,i,lf  Liberty  ma*  be  juftified  on  the  lame  PiititipK*  a> 

i!.e  Deptication  J  any  individual  fut,  Imb  as  tlie  Li- 

.jmf  uf  the  Prela  «  d»  ub  cdly  •». 


I     C«/Ft,  7.^ij.    letieriSroufhtby  tbeUApcHftois 
Gibralter  fay,  the  report  hctVre  ([mi,  tb«  tie  Alfe 

baie  killed  their  Dcy,  and  dcdared  mtr  againl  ali 

luropeui  poicera  eicept  ErfUnd  andFnace.prnei 


LONDON. 

iCiqpi/  I ;.  On  TIrariilay  it  the  king*i  irnu  tnem  in 
Cutnhill,  an  elegant  entertaiiiroeot  wa<  ginii  by  tl.e 
coniroillec  of  Noi lb- American  merchaiitt  to  fUhard 
Clo»er,  jnd  ChJilei  Garth,  Efqnj  when  Ihofc  Jentle. 
men  received  llieth»nli  of  that  body,  for  their  endea. 
voors  to  prevent  the  fulditry  from  bclflfc  brllefnl  up*e 
the-private  houlct  ot  their  fcUow-fubjcdi  in  AineHca'. 
Fan  tf  m  Ullir  jTtm  «  a^er  i>  tie  EaJf-tnJta  ftrwu, 
tlaltJ/nm  llx  Arirturiamt,  JtMMmrj  t,  176c. 

^]n  my  lalt  1  acqaainted  yuu  that  we  did  at  Mft  re- 
dtjce  Madure.  The  army  kai  fcace  ccwqoeied  ibe  Arie- 
tut'ccont^  ttjc  the  Nabob,  erf  i<M,Aool.  rrvenuc  a  year. 
9^eareno«  uftdee  ordera  to  aftack  another  chief,  or 
(WiUfor  contiguous  to  tkii  country  (  both  chief*  liaee 
munailt  maintained  aa  iadependeney  of  the  Nabob  till 
no*  (  riicrly  en  account  of  the  inipcnctrabfe  wooii  tbey 
ate  pollcirei!  or.    Tou  c«1<iW»  have  bewd  bctor«  of  the 


On  November  1,  1765,  the  Stamp  Act  went  into  force,  but 
not  a  stamp  or  a  piece  of  stamped  paper  could  be  had  in  any 
of  the  thirteen  colonies.  Some  of  the  newspapers  ceased  to 
be    printed,   the   last   issues    appearing   with    black    borders, 


THE  QUARREL  WITH  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY 


153 


death's  heads,  and  obituary  notices.  But  soon  till  were  regu- 
larly issued  without  stamps,  and  even  the  courts  disregarded 
the  law.i 

The  Stamp  Act  Repealed,  1766. — Meantime  the  merchants 
had  been  signing  agreements  not  to  import, 
and  the  people  not  to  buy,  any  British  goods 
for  some  months  to  come.  American  trade 
with  the  mother  country  was  thus  cut  off, 
thousands  of  workmen  in  Great  Britain  were 
thrown  out  of  employment,  and  Parliament 
was  beset  with  petitions  from  British  mer- 
chants praying  for  a  repeal  of  the  stamp  tax. 
To  enforce  the  act  without  bloodshed  was  im- 
possible. In  March,  1766,  therefore.  Parlia- 
ment repealed  the  Stamp  Act.^  But  at  the 
same  time  it  enacted  another,  known  as  the 
Declaratory  Act,  in  which  it  declared  that 
it  had  power  to  "  legislate  for  the  colonies 
in  all  cases  whatsoever." 

The  Townshend  Acts,  1767.  — In  their  joy 
over  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  colonists 
gave  no  heed  to  the  Declaratory  Act.     But 
the  very  next  year  Charles  Townshend,  then 
minister  of  finance,  persuaded  Parliament  to 
pass  several  laws  since  known  as  the  Townshend  Acts.     One 
of  these  forbade  the  legislature  of  New  York  to  pass  any  more  1 
laws  until  it   had  made  provision    for  the  royal  troops  quar- 
tered in  New  York  city.     Another  laid   taxes  on  all  paints,  \ 

^  In  Canada  and  the  "West  Indies  the  stamp  tax  was  not  resisted,  and  there 
stamps  were  used. 

2  When  Parliament  was  considering  the  repeal,  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  in 
London  as  agent  for  Pennsylvania  and  other  colonies,  was  called  before  a  com- 
mittee and  examined  as  to  the  state  of  colonial  affairs  ;  read  his  answers  in 
Hart's  American  History  told  by  Contemporaries,  Vol.  II,  pp.  407-411.  Pitt  in 
a  great  speech  declared,  "  The  kingdom  has  no  right  to  lay  a  tax  on  the  colonies, 
because  they  are  unrepresented  in  Parliament.  I  rejoice  that  America  has 
resisted."  Edmund  Burke,  one  of  the  greatest  of  Irish  orators,  took  the  same 
view. 


Lantern  used  at  cele- 
bration of  the  re- 
peal of  the  Stamp 
Act. 

In  the  Old  Statehouse, 
Boston. 


154 


THE   AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


paper,  tea,  and  certain  other  articles  imported  into  the  colo- 
nies.^ 

The  Colonies  again  Resist.  —  None  of  the  new  taxes  were 
1/  heavy,  but  again  the  case  was  one  of  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation, so  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  sent  a  letter  to 
the  other  colonial  legislatures  asking  them  to  unite  and  consult 
for  the  protection  of  their  rights.  This  letter  gave  so  great 
offense  to  the  mother  country  that  Massachusetts  was  ordered 
to  rescind  her  act,  and  the  governors  of  the   other  colonies  to 

see  that  no  notice  was  taken  of  it.^ 
And  now  the  royal  troops  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  colonies  began  to  arrive. 
But  Massachusetts,  North  Carolina, 
and  South  Carolina  refused  to  find 
them  quarters,  and  for  such  refusal 
the  legislature  of  North  Carolina  was 
dissolved. 

The  Boston  Massacre.  —  At  Bos- 
ton the   troops   were   received   with 
every  mark  of  hatred   and   disgust, 
and   for  three  years   were   subjected 
to  every  sort  of  insult  and  indignity, 
which   they    repaid    in    kind.     The 
troops  led  riotous  lives,  raced  horses 
on  Sunday  on  the  Common,   played 
"  Yankee  Doodle  "  before  the  church  doors,  and  more  than  once 
exchanged  blows  with  the  citizens.     In  one  encounter  the  troops 
fired  on  the  crowd,  killing  five  and  wounding  six.      This  was 


I"'-.-                 '   Mmsaammmmmaa 

i 

l^M 

I 

■«■ 

Boston  Massacre  Monument. 

In  Boston  Common. 


1  In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  king  is  charged  with  giving  his 
assent  to  acts  of  Parliament  "  For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,"  and  "  For 
quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us,"  and  "For  imposing  taxes 
on  us  without. our  consent." 

2  For  refusing  to  obey,  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  was  dissolved,  as 
were  the  assemblies  of  Maryland  and  Georgia  for  having  approved  it,  and  that 
of  New  York  for  refusing  supplies  to  the  royal  troops,  and  that  of  Virginia  for 
complaining  of  the  treatment  of  New  York.  Read  Fiske's  American  Revolution, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  28-36,  39-52. 


THE  QUARREL  WITH  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY    155 

the  famous  "  Boston  iMassacre,"  and  produced  over  aU  the  land 
a  deep  impression. ^ 

Townshend  Acts  Repealed,  1770.  — Once  more  the  resistance 
of  the  colonies  —  chiefly  through  refusing  to  buy  British  |^ 
goods  —  was  successful,  and  Parliament  took  off  all  the  Town- 
shend taxes  except  that  on  tea.  This  import  tax  of  three  pence 
a  pound  on  tea  was  retained  in  order  that  the  right  of  Parlia- 
ment to  tax  the  colonies  might  be  asserted.  But  the  colonists 
stood  firm ;  they  refused  to  buy  tea  shipped  from  Great  Britain, 
but  smuggled  it  from  Holland.^ 

Tea  Tax  Juggle.  —  By  1773  the  refusal  to  buy  tea  from  the  [^ 
mother  country  was  severely  felt  by  the  East  India  Company, 
which  had  brought  far  more  tea  to  Great  Britain  than  it  could 
dispose  of.  Parliament  then  removed  the  export  duty  of 
twelve  pence  a  pound  which  had  formerly  been  paid  in  Great 
Britain  on  all  tea  shipped  to  the  colonies.  Thus  after  paying 
the  three-pence  tax  at  the  American  customhouses,  the  tea 
could  be  sold  nine  pence  a  pound  cheaper  than  before. 

The  Tea  not  Allowed  to  be  Sold.  —  The  East  India  Company 
now  quickly  selected  agents  in  tlie  chief  seaports  of  the  colonies, 
and  sent  shiploads  of  tea  consigned  to  them  for  sale.^     But  the 

iThe  two  regiments  of  British  troops  in  Boston  were  now  removed,  on 
demand  of  the  people,  to  a  fort  in  the  harbor.  The  soldiers  who  fired  the 
shots  were  tried  for  murder  and  acquitted,  save  two  who  received  light  sentences. 

2  One  of  the  vessels  sent  to  stop  smuggling  was  the  schooner  Gaspee.  Hav- 
ing run  aground  in  Narragansett  Bay  (June,  1772),  she  was  boarded  by  a  party 
of  men  in  eight  boats  and  burned.  The  Virginia  legislature  appointed  a  "  com- 
mittee of  correspondence,"  to  find  out  the  facts  regarding  the  destruction  of 
the  Gaspee  and  "  to  maintain  a  correspondence  with  our  sister  colonies."  This 
plan  of  a  committee  to  inform  the  other  colonies  what  was  happening  in  Virginia, 
and  obtain  from  them  accurate  information  as  to  what  they  were  doing,  was 
at  once  taken  up  by  Massachusetts  and  other  colonies,  each  of  which  appointed 
a  similar  committee.  Such  committees  afterward  proved  to  be  the  means  of 
revolutionary  organization.  Read  Fiske's  American  Bevolution,  Vol.  1,  pp. 
76-80. 

8  Parliament  had  given  the  company  permission  to  do  this.  The  company 
had  long  possessed  the  monopoly  of  trade  with  the  East  Indies,  and  the  sole 
right  to  bring  tea  from  China  to  Great  Britain.  Before  1773,  however,  it  was 
obliged  to  sell  the  tea  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  business  of  exporting  tea  to  the 
colonies  had  been  carried  on  by  merchants  who  bought  from  the  company. 


156 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


colonists  were  not  tempted  by  cheap  tea  ;  they  were  determined 
that  Parliament  should  not  tax  them.  They  therefore  forced 
the  agents  to  resign  their  commissions,  and  when  the  tea  ships 
arrived,  took  possession  of  them.  At  Philadelphia  the  ships 
were  sent  back  to  London.  At  Charleston  the  tea  was  landed 
and  stored  for  three  years  and  then  seized  and  sold  by  the 
state  of  South  Carolina.  At  Annapolis  the  people  forced  the 
owner  of  a  tea  ship  to  go  on  board    and  set  fire  to  his  ship  ; 

vessel  and  cargo  were 
thus  consumed.  At 
Boston  the  people 
wished  the  tea  sent 
back  to  London,  and 
when  the  authorities 
refused  to  allow  this, 
a  party  of  men  dis- 
guised as  Indians 
boarded  the  ships  and 
threw  the  tea  into  the 
water.  1 

The  Intolerable 
Acts.  —  Parliament 
now  determined  to 
punish  the  colonies, 
and  for  this  purpose 
enacted  five  laws  called 
by  the  colonists  the 
Throwing  the  tea  overboard,  Boston.  Intolerable   Acts  :  — 

1.  The  port  of  Boston  was  shut  to  trade  and  commerce  till 
the  colony  should  pay  for  the  tea  destroyed. 

2.  The  charter  of  Massachusetts  was  altered. 

3.  Persons  who  were  accused  of  murder  done  in  executing 
the  laws  might  be  taken  for  trial  to  another  colon}^  or  to  Great 
Britain. 

4.  The  quartering  of  troops  on  the  people  was  authorized. 
1  Read  "The  Tea  Party  "  in  Hawthorne's  Grandfather'' s  Chair. 


THE  QUARREL  WITH  THE  MOTHER  COUNTRY     157 

5.  The  boundaries  of  the  province  of  Quebec  were  extended    . 
to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi   rivers.     As  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut,   and   Virginia   claimed  parts  of   this  territory,  they 
regarded  the  Quebec  Act  as  another  act  of  tyranny. ^ 

The  First  Continental  Congress.  —  Because  of  the  passage 
of  these  hiws,  a  Congress  suggested  by  Virginia  and  called  by 
Massachusetts  met  in  Carpenter's  Hall  in  Philadelphia  in  Sep-  \^ 
tember,  1774,  and  issued  a  declaration  of  rights  and  grievances, 
a  petition  to  the  king,  and  addresses  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  to  tlie  people  of  Canada,  and  to  the  people  of  the  col- 
onies. It  also  called  a  second  Congress  to  meet  on  IVIay  10,  L- 
1775,  and  take  action  on  the  result  of  the  petition  to  the  king. 

lAll  the  Intolerable  Acts  are  referred  to  in  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence.    See  if  you  can  find  the  references. 

SUMMARY 

1.  After  the  French  and  Indian  War  Great  Britain  determined  to 
enforce  the  laws  of  trade. 

2.  It  also  decided  that  the  colonies  should  bear  a  part  of  the  cost  of 
their  defense,  and  for  this  purpose  a  stamp  tax  was  levied. 

3.  The  right  of  Parliament  to  levy  such  a  tax  was  denied  by  the  col- 
onists on  the  ground  that  they  were  not  represented  in  Parlianient. 

4.  The  attempt  to  enforce  the  tax  led  to  resistance,  and  a  congress  of 
the  colonies  (1765)  issued  a  declaration  of  rights  and  grievances. 

5.  The  tax  was  repealed  in  1766,  but  Parliament  at  the  same  time 
asserted  its  right  to  tax. 

6.  The  Townshend  Acts  (1767)  tried  to  raise  a  revenue  by  import 
duties  on  goods  brought  into  the  colonies.  At  the  same  time  the  arrival 
of  the  troops  for  defense  of  the  colonies  caused  new  trouble ;  in  Boston  the 
people  and  the  troops  came  to  blows  (1770). 

7.  The  refusal  of  the  colonists  to  buy  the  taxed  articles  led  to  the 
repeal  of  all  the  taxes  except  that  on  tea  (1770). 

8.  The  colonists  still  refused  to  buy  taxed  tea,  whereupon  Parlia- 
ment enabled  the  East  India  Company  to  send  over  tea  for  sale  at  a  lower 
price  than  before. 

9.  The  tea  was  not  allowed  to  be  sold.     In  Boston  it  was  destroyed. 

10.  As  a  punishment  Parliament  enacted  the  five  Intolerable  Acts. 

11.  The  First  Continental  Congress  (1774)  thereupon  petitioned  for 
redress,  and  called  a  second  Congress  to  meet  the  next  year. 


CHAPTER   XIII 


THE  FIGHT   FOR  INDEPENDENCE   BEGUN 


Lexington,  1 775.  —  When  the 
met  (May  10,  1775),  the  mother 

mB:j:::r±'9  ' 'S' ^^:..m^mi^'v«'^    ,  mum  ^^.^^^ 

[HOLYJIBLE 

O  L  f)     ami     N  V  \V 

fESTAMENTS': 

miGINJL  TOXGlLSt 

TONS 


John  Hancock's  Bible. 

Now  in  the  Old  Statehouse,  Boston. 


second  Continental  Congress 
country  and  her  colonies  had 
come  to  blows. 

The  people  of  Massachu- 
setts, fearing  that  this  might 
happen,  had  begun  to  col- 
lect and  hide  arms,  cannon, 
and  powder.  General  Gage, 
the  royal  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  commander 
of  the  British  troops  in  Bos- 
ton, was  told  that  military 
supplies  were  concealed  at 
Concord,  a  town  some  twenty 
miles  from  Boston  (map,  p. 
168).  Now  it  happened  that^ 
in  April,  1775,  two  active 
patriots,  Samuel  Adams  ^ 
and  John  Hancock,  were  at 
Lexington,  a  town  on  the 
road  from  Boston  to  Con- 
cord. Gage  determined  to 
strike  a  double  blow  at  the 


1  Samuel  Adams  was  born  in  Boston  in  1722,  graduated  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  took  so  active  a  part  in  town  politics  that  he  has  been  called  "the  Man 
of  the  Town  Meeting."  From  1765  to  1774  he  was  a  member  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Assembly,  and  for  some  years  its  clerk.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
sent  to  demand  the  removal  of  the  soldiers  after  the  massacre  of  1770,  and  of  that 
sent  to  demand  the  resignations  of  the  men  appointed  to  receive  the  tea,  and  pre- 
sided over  the  town  meeting  that  demanded  the  return  of  the  tea  ships  to  England. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  signed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  After  the  Revolution  he  was  lieutenant  governor  and  then  gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  and  died  in  1803. 

158 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  IxNDEPENDENCE  BEGUN 


159 


patriots  by  sending  troops  to  arrest  Adams  and  Hancock  and 
destroy  the  military  stores.  On  the  evening  of  April  18,  ac- 
cordingly, eight  hundred  regulars  left  Bos- 
ton as  quietly  as  possible.  Gage  hoped  to 
keep  the  expedition  a  secret,  but  the  patriots 
in  Boston,  suspecting  where  the  troops  were 
going,  sent  off  Paul  Revere  ^  and  William 
Dawes  to  ride  by  different  routes  to  Lex- 
ington, rousing  the  countryside  as  they 
went.  As  the  British  advanced,  alarm  bells, 
signal  guns,  and  lights  in  the  villages  gave 
proof  that  their  secret  was  out. 

The  sun  was  rising  as  the  first  of  the 
British,  under  Major  Pitcairn,  entered  Lex- 
ington and  saw  drawn  up  across  the  village 
green  some  fifty  minutemen  ^  under  Captain 
John  Parker.  "  Disperse,  ye  villains,"  cried 
Pitcairn;  "ye  rebels,  disperse!"  Not  a  man 
moved,  whereupon  the  order  to 
fire  was  given;  the  troops  hesi- 
tated to  obey;  Pitcairn  fired  iiis 
pistol,  and  a  moment  later  a  volley 
from  the  British  killed  or  wounded 
sixteen  minutemen. ^  Parker  then      -^>>j?tv 

gave  the  order  to  retire.  stone  on  village  green  at  Lexington. 


One  of  the  lanterns 
hung  in  the  belfry. 

Now  in  the  possession  of 
the  Concord  Antiqua- 
rian Society. 


1  Revere  went  by  way  of  Charlestown  (map,  p.  160),  first  crossing  the  river 
from  Boston  in  a  rowboat.  As  tliere  was  danger  that  his  boat  might  be  stopped 
by  the  British  warships,  two  lanterns  were  shown  from  the  belfry  of  the  North 
Church  as  a  signal  to  his  friends  in  Charlestown;  and  when  he  landed  there  at 
midnight,  he  found  the  patriots  astir,  ready  to  give  the  alarm  if  he  had  not  ap- 
peared.   Read  "Paul  Revere's  Ride"  in  Longfellow's  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn. 

2  In  1774  the  Trovincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  ordered  one  quarter  of 
all  the  militiamen  to  be  enlisted  for  emergency  service.  They  came  to  be  known 
as  minutemen,  and  in  1775  the  Continental  Congress  recommended  "that  one 
fourth  part  of  the  militia  in  every  colony,  be  selected  for  minutemen  ...  to  be 
ready  on  the  shortest  notice,  to  march  to  any  place  where  their  assistance  may 
be  required." 

8  Just  before  the  fight  began  Adams  and  Hancock  left  Lexington  and  set  out 
to  attend  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia, 


160 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


PRO&PECT.HI  LL  ^ecl°'<-  >?'- 


The  Concord  Fight.  —  From  Lexington  the  British  went  on 
J  to  Concord,  set  the  courthouse  on  fire,  spiked  some  cannon, 
cut  down  the  liberty  pole,  and  destroyed  some  flour.  Meantime 
the  minutemen,  having  assembled  beyond  the  village,  came 
toward  the  North  Bridge,  and  the  British  who  were  guarding 
it  fell  back.  Shots  were  exchanged,  and  six  minutemen  were 
killed.^  But  the  Americans  crossed  the  bridge,  drove  back  the 
British,  and  then  dispersed. 

About  noon  the  British  started  for  Boston,  with  hundreds  of 
minutemen,  who  had  come  from  all  quarters,  hanging  on  their 

flanks  and  rear,  pouring 
in  a  galling  fire  from 
behind  trees  and  stone 
fences  and  every  bit  of 
rising  ground.  The  re- 
treat became  a  flight, 
and  the  flight  would  have 
become  a  rout  had  not 
reenforcements  met  them 
near  Lexington.  Pro- 
tected by  this  force,  the 
defeated  British  entered 
Boston  by  sundown.  By 
morning  the  hills  from  Charlestown  to  Roxbury  were  black 
with  minutemen,  and  Boston  was  in  a  state  of  siege. 

When  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  heard  of  the  fight,  they 
took  arms,  and  under  Ethan  Allen  ^  surprised  and  captured 
Fort  Ticonderoga  on  Lake  Champlain  (map,  p.  168). 

1  Read  Emerson's  Concord  Hymn ;  also  Cooper's  admirable  description  of 
the  day's  fighting  in  Lionel  Lincoln. 

2  Ethan  Allen  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1737,  and  went  to  Vermont  about 
1769.  Vermont  was  then  claimed  by  New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  and  when 
New  York  tried  to  enforce  her  authority,  the  settlers  in  "  New  Hampshire  Grants  " 
resisted,  and  organized  as  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  with  Allen  as  leader. 
At  Fort  Ticonderoga  Allen  found  the  garrison  asleep.  The  British  commandant, 
awakened  by  the  noise  at  his  door,  came  out  and  was  ordered  to  surrender  the 
fort.  "  By  what  authority?"  he  asked.  "  In  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and 
the  Continental  Congress,"  said  Allen. 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  BEGUN  161 

The  Second  Continental  Congress.  —  On  the  day  that  Fort 
Ticonderoga  was  captured  (May  10,  1775),  the  Continental 
Congress  met  at  Philadelphia.  It  had  been  created,  not  to 
govern  the  colonies,  nor  to  conduct  a  war,  but  merely  to  consult 
concerning  the  public  welfare,  and  advise  what  the  colonies 
should  do.  But  war  had  begun.  Congress  was  forced  to  become 
a  governing  body,  and  after  a  month's  delay  it  adopted  the  band 
of  patriots  gathered  about  Boston,  made  it  the  Continental  army, 
and  appointed  George  Washington  (then  a  delegate  to  Congress 
from  Virginia)  commander  in  chief. 

Washington  accepted  the  trust,  and  left  Philadelphia  June 
21,  but  had  not  gone  twenty  miles  when  he  was  met  by  news  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Bunker  Hill,  June  17, 1775.  — Since  the  fight  at  Lexington  and 
Concord  in  April,  troops  under  General  Howe,  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton, and  General  Burgoyne  had  arrived 
at  Boston  and  raised  the  number  there 
to  ten  thousand.  Gage  now  felt  strong 
enough  to  seize  the  hills  near  Boston,  lest 
the  Americans  should  occupy  them  and 
command  the  town.  Learning  of  this, 
the  patriots  determined  to  forestall  him, 
and  on  the  night  of  June  16  twelve  hun- 
dred   men   under  Prescott  were   sent  to       'Dmm  used  at  Bunker 

"■"''"  Hill 

fortify     Bunker     Hill    in    Charlestown.     _     .    ,  ... 

-       '^  -  Now  in  the  possession  of  the 

Prescott    thought  best  to  go  beyond   Bun-  Ancient  and  Honorable  Ar- 

1  TT-n  J     1        •  J.T,  •    x^A.    j-X,  tillery  Company,  Boston. 

ker  Hill,  and  during  the  night  threw  up 

a  rude  intrenchment  on  Breeds  Hill  instead. 

To  allow  batteries  to  be  planted  there  would  never  do,  so 
Gage  dispatched  Howe  with  nearly  three  thousand  regulars  to 
drTve  awaynElie  Americans  and  hold  the  hill.  Coming  over  from 
Boston  in  boats,  the  British  landed  and  marched  up  the  hill  till 
thirty  yards  from  the  works,  when  a  deadly  volley  mowed 
down  the  front  rank  and  sent  the  rest  down  the  hill  in  disorder. 

A  little  time  elapsed  before  the  regulars  were  seen  again 
ascending,  only  to  be  met  by  a  series  of  volleys  at  short  range. 


162      •  THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

The  British  fought  stubbornly,  but  were  once  more  forced  to 
retreat,  leaving  the  hillside  covered  with  dead  and  wounded. 
Their  loss  was  dreadful,  but  Howe  could  not  bear  to  give 
up  the  fight,  and  a  third  time  the  British  were  led  up  the 
hill.  The  powder  of  the  Americans  was  spent,  and  the  fight 
was  hand  to  hand  with  stones,  butts  of  muskets,  anything  that 
would  serve  as  a  weapon,  till  the  bayonet  charges  of  the  British 
forced  the  Americans  to  retreat.^ 

Washington  in  Command.  —  Two  weeks  later  "Washington 
reached  Cambridge  and  took  formal  command  of  the  army. 
For  eight  months  he  kept  the  British  shut  up  in  Boston,  while 
he  gathered  guns,  powder,  and  cannon,  and  trained  the  men. 

To  the  Continental  army  meantime  came  troops  from  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  of  course  from  the  four  New 
England  colonies,  commanded  by  men  who  were  destined  to 
rise  to  high  positions  during  the  war.  There  was  Daniel  Mor- 
gan of  Virginia,  with  a  splendid  band  of  sharpshooters,  and 
Israel  Putnam  of  Connecticut,  John  Stark  and  John  Sullivan 
of  New  Hampshire,  Nathanael  Greene  of  Rhode  Island,  Henry 
Knox  of  Boston,  Horatio  Gates  of  Virginia,  and  Benedict 
Arnold  and  Charles  Lee  who  later  turned  traitors. 

The  Hessians.  — When  King  George  III  heard  of  the  fight  at 
Bunker  Hill,  he  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  the  colonists 
rebels,  closed  their  ports  to  trade  and  commerce,^  and  sought 

1  Read  Fiske's  American  Bevolution,  Vol.  I,  pp.  136-146,  and  Holmes's 
Grandmother'' s  Story  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  British  lost  1054  and  the  Americans 
449.  Among  the  British  dead  was  Pitcairn,  who  began  the  war  at  Lexington. 
Among  the  American  dead  was  Dr.  Warren,  an  able  leader  of  the  Boston  patriots. 
While  the  battle  was  raging,  Charlestown  was  shelled  and  set  on  fire  and  four 
hundred  houses  burned.  Later,  in  October,  a  British  fleet  entered  the  harbor  of 
Falmouth  (now  Portland  in  Maine),  and  burned  three  fourths  of  the  houses. 
January  1,  1776,  Lord  Dunmore,  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  set  fire  to  Nor- 
folk, the  chief  city  of  Virginia.  The  fire  raged  for  three  days  and  reduced  the 
place  to  ashes.  These  acts  are  charged  against  the  king  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence :  "  He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people." 

2  This  is  made  a  charge  against  the  king  in  the  Declaration  :  "  He  has 
abdicated  government  here  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection,  and  waging  war 
against  us."     And  again,  "  For  cutting  oft  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world." 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   INDEPENDENCE  BEGUN  163 

to  hire  troops  from  Russia  and  Holland.     Both  refused,  where- 
upon he  turned  to  some  petty  German  states  and  hired  many 
thousand  soldiers  who  in  our  country  were 
called  Hessians.^ 

Canada  Invaded. — Now  that  the  war 
was  really  under  way,  Congress  turned  its 
attention  to  Canada.  It  was  feared  that 
the  British  governor  there  might  take 
Ticonderoga,  enter  New  York,  and  perhaps 
induce  the  Indians  to  harry  the  New  Eng- 
land frontier  as  they  did  in  the  old  French 
wars.  In  the  summer  of  1775,  therefore, 
two  expeditions  were  sent  against  Canada. 

1        -r»      1  1  T»f-  Now  in  Essex  Hal],  Salem. 

One  under  Richard  Montgomery  went  down 
Lake  Cham  plain  from  Ticonderoga  and  captured  Montreal. 
Another  under  Benedict  Arnold  sailed  from  Massachusetts  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  River,  and  forced  its  way  through 
the  dense  woods  of  Maine  to  Quebec.  There  Montgomery 
joined  Arnold,  and  on  the  night  of  December  31,  1775,  the  j^ 
American  army  in  a  blinding  snowstorm  assaulted  the  town. 
Montgomery  fell  dead  while  leading  the  attack  on  one  side  of 
Quebec,  Arnold  was  wounded  during  the  attack  on  the  other  side, 
and  Morgan,  who  took  Arnold's  place  and  led  his  men  far  into 
the  town,  was  cut  off  and  captured.  Though  the  attack  on 
Quebec  failed,  the  Americans  besieged  the  place  till  spring, 
when  they  were  forced  to  leave  Canada  and  find  shelter  at 
Crown  Point. 

Boston  Evacuated.  —  During  the  winter  of  1775-76,  some 
heavy  guns  were  dragged  over  the  snow  on  sledges  from  Ticoii- 

1  The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  and  four  other 
princes  furnished  the  men.  Their  generals  were  Riedesel  (ree'de-zel),  Knyp- 
hausen  (knip'hou-zen),  Von  Heister,  and  Donop.  The  employment  of  these 
troops  furnishes  another  charge  against  the  king  in  the  Declaration  :  "  He  is,  at 
this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  complete  the  works 
of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny."  The  first  detachment  of  German  troops 
landed  on  Staten  Island  in  New  York  Bay  on  August  15,  1776.  Before  the 
war  ended,  the  six  petty  German  princes  furnished  29,867,  of  whom  12,550  never 
returned.     Some  5000  of  these  deserted. 


164 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


deroga  to  Boston.     A  captured  British  vessel  provided  powder, 
,and  in  March,- 1776,  Washington  seized   Dorchester  Heights, 
^'fortified  them,  and  by  so   doing  forced   Howe,  who   had   suc- 
ceeded Gage  in  command,  to 
evacuate  Boston,  Ma^rchJJ. 

Whigs  and  Tories.  —  Dur- 
ing the  excitement  over  the 
Stamp  Act,  the  Townshend 
Acts,  and  the  tea  tax,  the 
people  were  divided  into 
three  parties.  Those  who  re- 
sisted   and    finally    rebelled 

One  of  the  guns  taken  from  Ticonderoga       were   Called  WhigS,  Or   Patri-  [> 

to  Boston.  ots,  or  "  Sons    of    Liberty."''^ 

Now  at  Cambridge.  rj.^^^^     ^^^-    SUppOrtcd     king 

and  Parliament  were  called  Tories  or  Loyalists. ^  Between 
these  two  extremes  were  the  great  mass  of  the  population  who 
cared  little  which  way  the  struggle  ended.  In  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Carolinas  the  Tories  were  numerous  and 
active,  and  when  the  war  opened,  they  raised  regiments  and 
fought  for  the  king. 

Fighting  in  the  Carolinas.  —  In  January,  1776,  Sir  Henry 

■J  Clinton  sailed  from  Boston  to  attack  North  Carolina,  and  a 
force  of  sixteen  hundred  Tories  marched  toward  the  coast 
to  aid.  But  North  Carolina  had  its  minutemen  as  well  as 
Massachusetts.     A  body  of  them  under  Colonel  Caswell  met 

]/  and  beat  the  Tories  at  Moores  Creek  (February  27)  and  so 
large  a  force  of  patriots  had  assembled  when  Clinton  arrived 
that  he  did  not  make  the  attack. 

1  Before  fighting  began,  the  Tories  were  denounced  and  held  up  as 
enemies  to  their  country  ;  later  their  leaders  were  mobbed,  and  if  they  held 
office,  were  forced  to  resign.  After  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  laws  of  great 
severity  were  enacted  against  them.  They  were  disarmed,  forced  to  take  an 
oath  of  allegiance,  proclaimed  traitors,  driven  into  exile,  and  their  estates  and 
property  were  confiscated.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  fearing  the  anger  of  the 
Whigs,  thousands  of  Tories  fled  from  our  country  to  Jamaica,  Bermuda,  Halifax 
in  Nova  Scotia,  and  Canada.  Some  30,000  went  from  New  York  city  in  1782-83, 
and  upward  of  60,000  left  our  country  during  and  after  the  war. 


THE   FIGHT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  BEGUN  165 

The  next  attempt  was  against  South  Carolina.  Late  in 
June,  Clinton  with  his  fleet  appeared  before  Charleston,  and 
while  the  fleet  opened  fire  on  Fort  Moultrie  (mol'try)  from 
the  water,  Clinton  marched  to  attack  it  by  land.  But  the  land 
attack  failed,  the  fleet  was  badly  damaged  by  shot  from  the 
fort,  and  the  expedition  sailed  away  to  New  York.^ 

Independence  Necessary.  —  Prior  to  1776  many  of  the  colonies 
denied  any  desire  for  independence,^  but  the  events  of  this  year 
caused  a  change.  After  the  battle  of  Moores  Creek,  North 
Carolina  bade  her  delegates  in  Congress  vote  for  independence.  Y 
Virginia,  in  May,  ordered  her  delegates  to  propose  that  the 
United  Colonies  be  declared  free  and  independent.  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  instructed  their  delegates  to  assent  to 
any  measure  for  the  good  of  America.  Rhode  Island  dropped 
the  king's  name  from  state  documents  and  sheriffs'  writs,  and 
town  after  town  in  Massachusetts  voted  to  uphold  Congress  in 
a  declaration  of  independence. 

Thus  encouraged,  Congress,  in  May,  resolved  that  royal 
authority  must  be  suppressed,  and  advised  all  the  colonies  to 
establisli  independent  governments.  Some  had  already  done 
so;  the  rest  one  by  one  framed  written  constitutions  of  govern- 
ment, and  became  states.^ 

1  While  the  battle  was  hottest,  a  shot  carried  away  the  flagstiaff  of  Fort 
Moultrie.  The  staff  and  flag  fell  outside  the  fort.  Instantly  Sergeant  William 
Jasper  leaped  down,  fastened  the  flag  to  the  ramrod  of  a  cannon,  climbed  back, 
and  planted  this  new  staff  firmly  on  the  fort.  A  fine  monument  now  com- 
memorates his  bravery. 

2  However,  many  leaders  in  New  England,  as  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams, 
and  Elbridge  Gerry  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  as  Benjamin  Rush  and  Benjamin  Franklin  ; 
in  Delaware,  as  Thomas  McKean  ;  as  Chase  of  Maryland ;  Lee,  Henry,  Jefferson, 
Washington,  of  Virginia;  and  Gadsden  of  South  Carolina,  favored  independence. 
In  this  state  of  affairs  Thomas  Paine,  in  January,  1776,  wrote  a  pamphlet  called 
Common  Sense,  in  which  independence  was  strongly  urged.  The  effect  was 
wonderful.  Edition  after  edition  was  printed  in  many  places.  "  Common 
Sense,^''  says  one  writer,  "is  read  to  all  ranks;  and  as  many  as  read,  so  many 
become  converted." 

^  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  did  not  abandon  their  charters,  for  in  these 
colonies  the  people  had  always  elected  their  governors  and  had  always  been 
practically  independent  of  the  king.  Connecticut  did  not  make  a  constitution 
till  1818,  and  Rhode  Island  not  till  1842. 


166 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


Vj 


Independence  Declared.  —  To  pretend  allegiance  to  the  king 
any  longer  was  a  farce.  Congress,  therefore,  appointed  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Roger  Sherman, 
and  Robert  R.  Livingston  to  write  a  declaration  of  independ- 
ence, and  on  July  2,  1776,  resolved:  "  That  these  United 
Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent 

States,  that  they  are  ab- 
solved from  all  allegiance 
to  the  British  Crown,  and 
that  all  political  connec- 
tion between  them  and 
the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally 
dissolved."  1  This  is  the 
Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. The  document  we 
call  the  Declaration  con- 
tains the  reasons  why  in- 
dependence was  declared. 
It  was  written  by  Jef- 
ferson, and  after  some 
changes  by  Congress  was 
adopted  on  July  4, 1776,^ 
and  copies  were  ordered 
to  be  sent  to  the  states. 


The  Committee  on  Declaration  of  Independence. 
From  an  old  print. 


1  This  resolution  had  been  introduced  in  Congress,  in  June,  by  Richard  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia.  For  a  fine  description  of  the  debate  on  independence  read 
Webster's  Oration  on  Adams  and  Jefferson.  Why  did  John  Dickinson  oppose 
a  declaration  of  independence?  Read  Fiske's  American  Revolution^  Vol.  I, 
pp.  190-192. 

^  A  few  copies  signed  by  Hancock,  president  of  Congress,  and  Thomson, 
the  secretary,  were  made  public  on  July  5  ;  and  on  July  8  one  of  these  was  read 
to  a  crowd  of  people  in  the  Statehouse  yard  at  Philadelphia.  The  common 
idea  that  the  Declaration  was  signed  at  one  time  is  erroneous.  The  signing  did 
not  begin  till  August  2.  Of  those  who  signed  then  and  afterward,  seven  were 
not  members  of  Congress  on  July  4,  1776.  Of  those  signers  who  were  members 
on  July  4,  it  is  known  that  five  were  absent  on  that  day.  Seven  men  who  were 
members  of  Congress  on  July  4  were  not  members  on  August  2,  and  never 
signed. 


THE   FIGHT  FOR  INBEPENDENCE   BEGUN 


167 


SUMMARY 

1.  Governor  Gage,  hearing  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  were  gather- 
ing military  stores,  sent  troops  to  destroy  the  stores. 

2.  The  battles  at  Lexington  and  Concord  followed,  and  Boston  was 
besieged. 

3.  The  militia  from  the  neighboring  colonies  gathered  about  Boston. 
They  were  formed  into  a  Continental  army  by  Congress,  and  Washington 
was  appointed  commander  in  chief. 

4.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  meantime,  took  place  (June,  1775). 

5.  King  George  III  now  declared  the  colonists  rebels,  shut  their  ports, 
and  sent  troops  from  Germany  to  subdue  them. 

6.  An  expedition  of  the  patriots  for  the  conquest  of  Canada  failed 
(1775-76). 

7.  But  the  British  were  forced  to  leave  Boston  (March,  1776). 

8.  British  attacks  on  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina  came  to 
naught. 

9.  July  4,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted. 


^m 

wr**" 

Paintitiff  by  A.   H.   Bicknell. 


Battle  of  Lexington. 


Longitude        76 


CHAPTER   XIV 
THE   WAR  IN   THE   MIDDLE   STATES   AND   ON  THE   SEA 

Battle  of  Long  Island.  —  When  Howe  sailed  from  Boston 
(in  March,  1776),  he  went  to  Halifax  in  Nova  Scotia.  But 
Washington  was  sure  New  York  would  be  attacked,  so  he  moved 
the  Continental  army  to  that  city  and  took  position  on  the  hills 
back  of  Brooklyn  on  Long  Island. 

He  was  not  mistaken,  for  to  New  York  harbor  in  June  came 
General  Howe,  and  in  July  Clinton  from  his  defeat  at  Charleston, 
and  Admiral  Howe  ^  with  troops  from  England.  Thus  reen- 
forced.  General  Howe  landed  on  Long  Island  in  August,  and 
drove  the  Americans  from  their  outposts,  back  to  Brooklyn. ^ 
Washington  now  expected  an  assault,  but  Howe  remembered 
Bunker  Hill  and  made  ready  to  besiege  the  Americans,  where- 
upon two  nights  after  the  battle  Washington  crossed  with  the 
army  to  Manhattan  Island. ^ 

1  Admiral  Howe  now  wrote  to  Washington,  offering  pardon  to  all  persons  who 
should  desist  from  rebellion  ;  he  addressed  the  letter  to  "  George  Washington, 
Esq.,"  and  sent  it  under  flag  of  truce.  The  messenger  was  told  there  was  no  one 
in  the  army  with  that  title.  A  week  later  another  messenger  came  with  a  paper 
addressed  "  George  Washington,  Esq.  etc.  etc."  This  time  he  was  received  ; 
and  when  Washington  declined  to  receive  the  letter,  explained  that  "  etc.  etc." 
meant  everything.  "  Indeed,"  said  Washington,  "  they  might  mean  anything." 
He  was  determined  that  Howe  should  recognize  him  as  commander  in  chief  of 
the  Continental  army,  and  not  treat  him  as  the  leader  of  rebels. 

2  Many  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  this  and  other  battles  were  put  on  board 
ships  anchored  near  Brooklyn.  Their  sufferings  in  these  "Jersey  prison  ships  " 
were  terrible,  and  many  died  and  were  buried  on  the  beach.  From  these  rude 
graves  their  bones  from  time  to  time  were  washed  out.  At  last  in  1808  they 
were  taken  up  and  decently  buried  near  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard,  and  in  1873 
were  put  in  a  vault  in  Washington  Park,  Brooklyn. 

3  While  Washington  was  near  New  York,  a  young  man  named  Nathan  Hale 
volunteered  to  enter  the  British  lines  on  Long  Island  to  procure  information 
greatly  needed.  As  he  was  returning  he  was  recognized  by  a  Tory  kinsman,  was 
captured,  tried  as  a  spy,  and  hanged.  His  last  words  were :  "I  regret  that  I 
have  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country." 

MCM.   BRIEF 11  169 


170 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


Washington's  Retreat.  —  Washin^gton  left  a  strong  force 
under  Putnam  in  the  heart  of  New  York  city,  and  stationed  his 

main  army  along  Harlem 
Heights.  Howe  crossed 
to  Manhattan  and  landed 
behind  Putnam,^  who  was 
thus  forced  to  leave  his 
guns  and  tents,  and  flee  to 
Harlem  Heights,  where 
Howe  attacked  Washing- 
ton the  next  day  and  was 
repulsed. 

So  matters  stood  for 
nearly  a  month,  when 
Howe  attempted  to  go 
around  the  east  end  of 
Washington's  line,  and 
thus  forced  him  to  retreat 
to  White  Plains.  Baffled 
in  an  attack  at  this 
place,  Howe  went  back 
to  New  York  and  carried  Fort  Washington  by  storm,  taking 
many  prisoners. 

Washington  meantime  had  crossed  the  Hudson  to  New 
Jersey,  leaving  General  Charles  Lee  with  seven  thousand  men 
in  New  York  state.  He  now  ordered  Lee  to  join  him  ^ ;  but 
Lee  disobeyed,  and  Washington,  closely  pursued  by  the  British, 
retreated  across  New  Jersey. 

1  When  Howe,  marching  across  Manhattan  Island,  reached  Murray  Hill, 
Mrs,  Lindley  Murray  sent  a  servant  to  invite  him  to  luncheon.  The  array 
"was  halted,  and  Mrs,  Murray  entertained  Howe  and  his  officers  for  two  hours. 
It  was  this  delay  that  enabled  Putnam  to  escape, 

2  Charles  Lee  was  in  general  command  at  Charleston  during  the  attack 
on  Fort  Moultrie,  and  when  he  joined  Washington  at  New  York,  was  thought 
a  great  officer,  Lee  was  jealous,  hoped  to  be  made  commander  in  chief, 
and  purposely  left  Washington  to  his  fate.  Later  Lee  crossed  to  New  Jer- 
sey and  took  up  his  quarters  at  Basking  Ridge,  not  far  from  Morristown, 
where  the  British  captured  him  (December  13, 1776). 


Battle  of  Harlem  Heights, 

Tablet  on  a  Columbia  College  building,  New  York  city. 


THE   WAR   IN  THE   MIDDLE   STATES 


171 


The  Victory  at  Trenton,  December  26,  1776.  —  On  the  Penn- 
sylvania side  of  the  Delaware  River,  Washington  turned  at  bay, 
and  having  at  last  received  some  reenforcements,  he  recrossed 
the  Delaware  on  Christmas  night  in  a  blinding  snowstorm, 
marched  nine  miles  to  Trenton,  surprised  a  body  of  Hessians, 
captured  a  thousand  prisoners,  and  went  back  to  Pennsylvania. 

Washington  now  proposed  to  follow  up  this  victory  with 
other  attacks.  But  a  new  difficulty  arose,  for  the  time  of 
service  of  many  of  the  Eastern  troops  would  expire  on  January  1. 
These  men  were  therefore  asked  to  serve  six  weeks  longer,  and 
were  offered  a  bounty  of  ten  dollars  a  man. 

Robert  Morris  sends  Money.  —  Many  agreed  to  serve,  but  the 
paymaster  had  no  money. 
Washington  therefore 
pledged  his  own  fortune, 
and  appealed  to  Robert 
Morris  at  Philadelphia.  ^ 
"If  it  be  possible.  Sir,"  he 
wrote,  "to  give  us  assist- 
ance, do  it ;  borrow  money 
while  it  can  be  done,  we  are 
doing  it  upon  our  private 
credit."  Morris  responded 
at  once,  and  on  New  Year's 
morning,  1777,  went  from 
house  to  house,  roused  his  friends  from  their  beds  to  borrow 
money  from  them,  and  early  in  the  day  sent  fifty  thousand 
dollars. 


Morris's  strong  box. 

Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Pennsylvania  Histor- 
ical Society. 


1  Kobert  Morris  was  born  at  Liverpool,  England,  but  came  to  Philadelphia 
as  a  lad  and  entered  on  a  business  career,  and  when  the  Revolution  opened,  was 
a  man  of  means  and  influence.  He  signed  the  non-importation  agreement  of 
1765,  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  at  this  time  (December, 
1776)  was  a  leading  member  of  Congress.  A  year  later,  when  the  army  was 
at  Valley  Forge,  he  sent  it  as  a  gift  a  large  quantity  of  food  and  clothing.  In 
1781  Morris  was  made  Superintendent  of  Finance,  and  in  order  to  supply 
the  army  in  the  movement  against  Yorktown,  lent  his  notes  to  the  amount  of 
$1,400,000.  In  1781  he  founded  the  Bank  of  North  America,  which  is  now  the 
oldest  bank  in  our  country.     After  the  war  Morris  was  a  senator  from  Penn- 


172  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

Battle  of  Princeton,  January  3,  1777. —  Washington  crossed 
again  to  Trenton,  whereupon  Lord  Cornvvallis  hurried  up  with 
a  British  army,  and  shut  in  the  Americans  between  his  forces 
and  the  Delaware.     But  Washington  slipped  out,  went  around 
Cornwallis,  and  the  next  morning  attacked  three  British  regi- 
ments at  Princeton  and  beat  them.     He  then  took  possession  of 
the  hills  at  Morristown,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  the  winter. 
The  Attempt  to  cut  off  New  England.  —  The  British  plan  for 
the  campaign  of  1777  was  to  seize  Lake  Champlain  and  the 
Hudson  River  and  so  cut  off  New  England  from  the  Middle 
States.     To  carry  out  this  plan,  (1)  General  Burgoyne  was  to 
'  come  down  from  Canada,  (2)  Howe  was  to  go  up  the  Hudson 
from  New  York  and  join  Burgoyne  at  Albany,  and  (3)  St.  Leger 
was  to  go  from  Lake  Ontario  down  the  Mohawk  to  Albany.^ 
Oriskany.  —  Hearing  of  the  approach  of  St.  Leger,  General 
s/  Herkimer  of  the  New  York  militia  gathered  eight  hundred  men 
and  hurried  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix.     Near  Oriskany, 
about  six  miles  from  the  fort,  he  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of 
British   and   Indians,  and  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  fight  ensued, 

till  the  Indians  fled  and  the 
British,  forced  to  follow,  left  the 
Americans  in  possession  of  the 
field,  too  weak  to  pursue. 

Just  at  this  time  the  garrison 
of  the  fort  made  a  sortie  against 
part  of  the  British  army,  cap- 
tured their  camp,  and  carried  a 
quantity  of  supplies  and  their 
The  first  national  flag.  flags  ^  back  to  the  fort. 

sylvania.     He  speculated  largely  in  Western  lands,  lost  his  fortune,  and  from 
1798  to  1802  was  a  prisoner  for  debt.     He  died  in  180G. 

1  Head  the  story  of  Jane  McCrea  in  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  277-279. 

2  These  flags  were  hoisted  on  the  fort  and  over  them  was  raised  the  first  flag 
of  stars  and  stripes  ever  flung  to  the  breeze.  Congress  on  June  14,  1777,  had 
adopted  our  national  flag.  The  flag  at  Fort  Stanwix  was  made  of  pieces  of 
a  white  shirt,  a  blue  jacket,  and  strips  of  red  flannel.     The  day  was  August  6. 


THE  WAR  IN  THE   MIDDLE  STATES 


173 


When  news  of  Oriskany  reached  Schuyler,  the  patriot 
general  commanding  in  the  north,  he  called  for  a  volunteer  to 
lead  a  force  to  relieve  Fort  Stanwix.  Arnold  responded,  and 
with  twelve  hundred  men  hurried  westward,  and  by  a  clever 
ruse  1  forced  St.  Leger  to  raise  the  siege  and  flee  to  Montreal. 


M' 

^g',    \  €a 

^^■j^^ 

ki^ 

^'^-  flb.  bK  ^B 

^B^ 

M^^^^MBI 

Battle  of  Bennington,     From  an  old  print. 

Bennington.  —  Burgoyne  set  out  in  June,  captured  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  advanced  to  the  upper  Hudson.  As  he  came  south- 
ward, the  sturdy  farmers  of  Vermont  and  New  York  began  to 
gather  on  his  flank,  and  collected  at  Bennington  many  horses 
and  large  stores  of  food  and  ammunition.     As  Burgoyne  needed 

1  The  story  runs  that  several  Tory  spies  were  captured  and  condemned  to 
death,  but  one  named  Cuyler  was  spared  by  Arnold  on  condition  that  he 
should  go  to  the  camp  of  St.  Leger  and  say  that  Burgoyne  was  captured  and 
a  great  American  army  was  coming  to  relieve  Fort  Stanwix.  Cuyler  agreed, 
and  having  cut  what  seemed  bullet  holes  in  his  clothes,  rushed  into  the  British 
camp,  crying  out  that  a  large  American  army  was  at  hand,  and  that  he  had 
barely  escaped  with  life.  The  Indians  at  once  began  to  desert,  the  panic  spread 
to  the  British,  and  the  next  day  St.  Leger  was  fleeing  toward  Lake  Ontario. 


174  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

horses,  he  sent  a  force  of  Hessians  to  attack  Bennington.  But 
Stark,  with  his  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  New  Hampshire 
(yv  militia,  met  the  Hessians  six  miles  from  town,  surrounded  them 
on  all  sides,  beat  them,  and  took  seven  hundred  prisoners  and 
quantities  of  guns  and  some  cannon  (August  16). 

Saratoga.  —  These  defeats  were  serious  blows  to  Burgoyne, 
around  whose  army  the  Americans  had  been  gathering.  He 
decided,  however,  to  fight,  crossed  the  Hudson,  and  about  the 
middle  of  September  attacked  the  Americans  at  Bemis  Heights, 
and  again  on  the  same  ground  early  in  October.^  He  was 
beaten  in  both  battles  and  on  October  17  was  forced  to  sur- 
^      render  at  Saratoga. 

Battle  of  Brandy  wine.  —  What,  meantime,  had  Howe  been 
doing  ?  He  should  have  pushed  up  the  Hudson  to  join  Bur- 
goyne. But  he  decided  to  capture  Philadelphia  before  going 
north,  and  having  put  his  army  on  board  a  fleet,  he  started  for 
that  city  by  sea.  Not  venturing  to  enter  the  Delaware,  he 
sailed  up  Chesapeake  Bay  and  two  weeks  after  landing  found 
Washington  awaiting  him  on  Brandywine  Creek,  where  (Sep- 
tember 11,  1777)  a  battle  was  fought  and  won  by  the  British. 
Among  the  wounded  was  Marquis  de  Lafayette,^  who  earlier  in 
the  year  had  come  from  France  to  offer  his  services  to  Congress. 

Philadelphia  Occupied.  —  Two  weeks  later  Howe  entered 
Philadelphia  in  triumph. ^    Congress  had  fled  to  Lancaster,  and 

1  The  second  battle  is  often  called  the  battle  of  Stillwater.  Shortly  before 
this  Congress  removed  Schuyler  from  command  and  gave  it  to  Gates,  vp^ho  thus 
reaped  the  glory  of  the  whole  campaign.  In  both  battles  Arnold  greatly  distin- 
guished himself.     He  won  the  first  fight  and  was  wounded  in  the  second. 

2  Lafayette  was  a  young  French  nobleman  who,  fired  by  accounts  of  the  war 
in  America,  fitted  out  a  vessel,  and  despite  the  orders  of  the  French  king  escaped 
and  came  to  Philadelphia,  and  offered  his  services  to  Congress.  With  him  were 
De  Kalb  and  eleven  other  officers.  Two  gallant  Polish  officers,  Pulaski  and 
Kosciusko,  had  come  over  before  this  time.  Kosciusko  had  been  recommended 
to  Washington  by  Franklin,  then  in  France  ;  he  was  made  a  colonel  in  the 
engineer  corps  and  superintended  the  building  of  the  American  fortifications 
at  Bemis  Heights.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Poland,  and  long  afterward  led 
the  Poles  in  their  struggle  for  liberty. 

8  An  interesting  novel  on  this  period  of  the  war  is  Dr.  S.  W.  Mitchell's  Hugh 
Wynne. 


THE   WAR  IN   THE  MIDDLE  STATES 


175 


later  went  to  York,  Pennsylvania.     Washington  now  attacked 
Howe  at  Germantown  (just  north  of  Philadelphia),  but  was 


Drawn  by  Darley. 

At  Valley  Forge. 

defeated  and  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  where 

the  patriots  suffered  greatly  from  cold  and  hunger. ^ 

Result  of  the  Campaign.  —  The  year's   campaign  was  far 

from  a  failure. ^     The  surprise  at  Trenton  and  the  victory  at 

Princeton  showed  that  Washington  was  a  general  of  the  first 

rank.     The  defeats  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown  did  not 

dishearten  the  army.      The  victory  at  Saratoga  was  one  of  the 

decisive  campaigns  of  the  world's  history;    for  it  ruined  the 

plans  of  the  British  ^  and  secured  us  the  aid  of  France. 

1  At  Valley  Forge  Baron  Steuben  joined  the  army.  He  was  an  able  German 
officer  who  had  seen  service  under  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia,  and  had 
been  persuaded  by  the  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  come  to  America 
and  help  to  organize  and  discipline  the  army.  He  landed  in  New  Hampshire 
late  in  1777,  and  spent  the  dreadful  winter  at  Valley  Forge  in  drilling  the  troops, 
teaching  them  the  use  of  the  bayonet,  and  organizing  the  army  on  the  Eu- 
ropean plan.  After  the  war  New  York  presented  Steuben  with  a  farm  of 
16,000  acres  not  far  from  Fort  Stanwix.    There  he  died  in  1794. 

2  Certain  officers  and  members  of  Congress  plotted  during  1777  to  have 
Washington  removed  from  the  command  of  the  army.  For  an  account  of  this 
Conway  Cabal  read  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Vol.  II,  pp.  34-43. 

3  Great  Britain  now  sent  over  commissioners  to  offer  liberal  terms  of  peace, 
—  no  taxes  by  Parliament,  no  restrictions  on  trade,  no  troops  in  America  with- 


176 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


Help  from  France,  1778. —  In  1776  Congress  commissioned 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Arthur  Lee,  and  Silas  Deane  to  go  to  France 
and  seek  her  help.  France,  smarting  under  the  loss  of  Louisi- 
ana and  Canada  (1763),  would  gladly  have  helped  us ;  but  not 
till  the  victories  at  Trenton,  Princeton,  Oriskany,  and  Saratoga 
could  she  feel  sure  of  the  ability  of  the  Americans  to  fight. 
Then  the  French  king  recognized  our  independence,  and  in 
February,  1778,  made  with  us  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  went  to 
war  with  Great  Britain. 

The  effect  of  the  French  alliance  was  immediate.  France 
began  to  fit  out  a  fleet  and  army  to  help  us.  Hearing  of  this, 
Clinton,  who  had  succeeded  Howe  in  command  at  Philadelphia, 
left  that  city  with  his  army  and  started  for  New  York. 

Monmouth,  June  28,  1778.  —  Washington  decided  to  pursue, 
and  as  Clinton,  hampered   by  an  immense  train  of   baggage, 

moved  slowly  across  New 
Jersey,  he  was  overtaken 
by  the  Americans  at  Mon- 
mouth. Charles  Lee^  was 
to  begin  the  attack,  and 
Washington,  coming  up  a 
little  later,  was  to  complete 
the  defeat  of  the  enemy. 
But  Lee  was  a  traitor,  and 
having  attacked  the  Brit- 
ish, began  a  retreat  which 
would  have  lost  the  day 
had  not  Washington  come 
up  just  in  time  to  lead  a 

out  consent  of  the  colonial  assemblies,  even  representation  in  Parliament,  —  but 
the  offer  was  rejected.  Why  did  the  commissioners  fail  ?  Read  Fiske's  Ameri- 
can Bevolution,  Vol.  II,  pp.  4-17,  22-24. 

1  Lee  had  been  exchanged  for  a  captured  British  general,  and  came  to 
Valley  Forge  in  May.  From  papers  found  after  his  death  we  know  that  while  a 
prisoner  he  advised  Howe  as  to  the  best  means  of  conquering  the  states.  For 
his  conduct  in  the  battle  and  insolence  to  Washington  after  it,  Lee  was  sus- 
pended from  the  army  fot  one  year,  but  when  he  wrote  an  insolent  letter  to 
Congress,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  army. 


Church  near  Monmouth  battlefield,  built 
in  1752. 


THE  WAR  ON  THE  SEA  177 

new  attack.  The  battle  raged  till  nightfall,  and  in  the  dark- 
ness Clinton  slipped  away  and  went  on  to  New  York. 

Washington  now  crossed  the  Hudson,  encamped  at  White 
Plains,  and  during  three  years  remained  in  that  neighborhood, 
constantly  threatening  the  British  in  New  York.i 

Beginning  of  the  Navy.  —  More  than  three  years  had  now 
passed  since  the  fight  at  Lexington,  and  here  let  us  stop  and 
review  what  the  Americans  had  been  doing  at  sea.  At  the 
outset,  the  colonists  had  no  warships  at  all.  Congress  there- 
fore (in  December,  1775)  ordered  thirteen  armed  vessels  to  be 
built  at  once,  bought  merchant  ships  to  serve  as  cruisers,  and 
thus  created  a  navy  of  thirty  vessels  before  the  4th  of  July, 
1776.2 

Eight  of  the  cruisers  were  quickly  assembled  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  early  in  January,  1776,  Esek  Hopkins,  commander 
in  chief,  stepped  on  board  of  one  of  them  and  took  command. 
As  he  did  so,  Lieutenant  John  Paul  Jones  hoisted  a  yellow 
silk  flag  on  which  was  the  device  of  a  pine  tree  and  a  coiled 
rattlesnake  and  the  motto  "Don't  tread  on  me."  This  was  the 
first  flag  ever  displayed  on  an  American  man-of-war.  Ice 
delayed  the  departure  of  the  squadron ;  but  in  February  it 
put  to  sea,  went  to  the  Bahama  Islands,  captured  the  forts  on 
the  island  of  New  Providence,  and  carried  off  a  quantity  of 
powder  and  cannon. 

Captain   Barry.  —  Soon  afterward  another  cruiser,  the  six- 

1  A  French  fleet  of  twelve  ships,  under  Count  d'Estaing,  soon  arrived  near 
New  York.  It  might  perhaps  have  captured  the  British  fleet  in  the  harbor  ;  but 
without  making  the  attempt  D'Estaing  went  on  to  Newport  to  attempt  the  cap- 
ture of  a  British  force  which  had  held  that  place  since  December,  1776.  Wash- 
ington sent  Greene  and  Lafayette  with  troops  to  assist  him,  the  New  England 
militia  turned  out  by  thousands,  and  all  seemed  ready  for  the  attack,  when  a 
British  fleet  appeared  and  D'Estaing  went  out  to  meet  it.  A  storm  scattered 
the  vessels  of  the  two  squadrons,  and  D'Estaing  went  to  Boston  for  repairs,  and 
then  to  the  West  Indies. 

2  Six  of  the  thirty  never  got  to  sea,  but  were  captured  or  destroyed  when  the 
British  took  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Our  navy,  therefore,  may  be  con- 
sidered at  the  outset  to  have  consisted  of  24  vessels,  mounting  422  guns.  Great 
Britain  at  that  time  had  112  war  vessels,  carrying  3714  guns,  and  78  of  these 
vessels  were  stationed  on  or  near  our  coast. 


178  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

teen-gun  brig  Lexington^  Captain  John^Barry,^  fell  in  with  a 
British  armed  vessel  off  the  coast  of  Virginia,  and  after  a  sharp 
engagement  captured  her.  She  was  the  first  prize  brought  in 
by  a  commissioned  officer  of  the  American  navy. 

The  Cruisers  in  Europe.  —  In  1777  the  cruisers  carried  the 
war  into  British  ports  and  waters,  across  the  Atlantic.  The 
Heprisal  (which  had  carried  Franklin  to  France),  under  Cap- 
tain Wilkes,  in  company  with  two  other  vessels,  sailed  twice 
around  Ireland,  made  fifteen  prizes,  and  alarmed  the  whole 
coast. 2  Another  cruiser,  the  Revenge^  scoured  British  waters, 
and  when  in  need  of  repairs  boldly  entered  a  British  port  in 
disguise  and  refitted. 

In  1778  John  Paul  Jones,^  in  the  Ranger^  sailed  to  the  Irish 
Channel,  destroyed  four  vessels,  set  fire  to  the  shipping  in  a 

1  John  Barry  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  came  to  America  at  thirteen,  and 
at  twenty-five  was  captain  of  a  ship.  At  the  opening  of  the  war  he  offered  his 
services  to  Congress,  and  in  February,  1776,  was  given  command  of  the 
Lexington.  After  his  victory  Barry  was  transferred  to  the  28-gun  frigate 
Effingham,  and  in  1777  (while  blockaded  in  the  Delaware),  with  27  men  in 
four  boats  captured  and  destroyed  a  10-gun  schooner  and  four  transports.  For 
this  he  was  thanked  by  Washington.  When  the  British  captured  Philadelphia, 
Barry  took  the  Effingham  up  the  river  to  save  her  ;  but  she  was  burned  by 
the  British.  At  different  times  Barry  commanded  several  other  ships,  and  in 
1782,  in  the  Alliance,  fought  the  last  action  of  the  war.  In  1794  he  was  senior 
captain  of  the  navy,  with  the  title  of  commodore.     He  died  in  1803. 

2  When  these  ships  returned  to  France  with  the  prizes,  the  British  govern- 
ment protested  so  vigorously  that  the  Beprisal  and  the  Lexington  were  seized 
and  held  till  security  was  given  that  they  would  leave  France.  The  prizes  were 
ordered  out  of  port,  were  taken  into  the  offing,  and  then  quietly  sold  to  French 
merchants.  The  Beprisal  on  her  way  home  was  lost  at  sea.  The  Lexington 
was  captured  and  her  men  thrown  into  prison.  They  escaped  by  digging  a  hole 
under  the  wall,  and  were  on  board  a  vessel  in  London  bound  for  France,  when 
they  were  discovered  and  sent  back  to  prison.  A  year  later  one  of  them, 
Richard  Dale,  escaped  by  walking  past  the  guards  in  daylight,  dressed  in  a 
British  uniform.     He  never  would  tell  how  he  got  the  uniform. 

3  John  Paul,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1747.  He  began  a  seafaring  life 
when  twelve  years  old  and  followed  it  till  1773,  when  he  fell  heir  to  a  planta- 
tion in  Virginia  on  condition  that  he  should  take  the  name  of  Jones.  There- 
after he  was  known  as  John  Paul  Jones.  In  1775  Jones  offered  his  services  to 
Congress,  assisted  in  founding  our  navy,  and  in  December,  1775,  was  commis- 
sioned lieutenant.  He  died  in  Paris  in  1792,  but  the  whereabouts  of  his  grave 
was  long  unknown.  In  1905,  however,  the  United  States  ambassador  to 
France   (Horace  Porter)  discovered  the  body  of  Jones,  which  was  brought 


THE  WAR  ON  THE  SEA 


179 


British  port,  fought  and  captured  a  British  armed  schooner, 
sailed  around  Ireland  with  her,  and  reached  France  in  safety. 

The  next  year   (1779)   Jones,  in  the  Bonhomme   Richard  \^ 
(bo-nom'  re-shar'),  fell  in  with  the  British  frigate  Serapis  off 
the  east  coast  of  Great  Britain,  and 
on  a  moonlight  night  fought  one  of 
the  most  desperate  battles  in  naval 
history  and  won  it. 

The  Frigates.  —  Of  the  thirteen 
frigates  ordered  by  Congress  in  1775, 
only  four  remained  by  the  end  of 
1778.  Some  were  captured  at  sea, 
some  were  destroyed  to  prevent 
their  falling  into  British  hands, 
and  one  blew  up  while  gallantly 
fighting.  Of  the  cruisers  bought 
in  1775,  only  one  remained.  Other 
purchases  at  home  and  abroad  were 
made,  but  three  frigates  were  cap- 
tured and  destroyed  at  Charleston 
in  1779,  and  by  the  end  of  the 
year  our  navy  was  reduced  to  six 
vessels.     During  the  war  24  vessels 

«    .,  1      ,    -I  .  Gold  medal  given  to  Jones. i 

01  the   navy  were  lost  by  capture, 

wreck,  or  destruction.     The  British  navy  lost  102. 

The  Privateers.  —  So  far  we  have  considered  only  the  Amer- 
ican navy  —  the  warships  owned  by  the  government.     Congress 
also  (March,   1776)   issued  letters  of  marque,  or  licenses  to 
citizens  to  fit  out  armed  vessels  and  make  war  on  British  ships  \/ 
armed  or  unarmed  ;  and  the  sea  soon  swarmed  with  privateers 

with  due  honors  to  the  United  States  and  deposited  at  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis.  Porter's  account  of  how  the  body  was  found  may  be  read  in  the 
Century  Magazine  for  October,  1905.  Jones  is  the  hero  of  Cooper's  novel 
called  The  Pilot. 

^The  wording  on  the  medal  may  be  translated  as  follows :  "  The  American 
Congress  to  John  Paul  Jones,  fleet  commander  —  for  the  capture  or  defeat  of 
the  enemy's  ships  off  the  coast  of  Scotland,  Sept.  23,  1779." 


180  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

fitted  out,  not  only  by  citizens  but  also  by  the  states.  The 
privateers  were  active  throughout  the  war,  and  took  hundreds 
of  prizes. 

SUMMARY 

1.  After  the  British  left  Boston,  Washington  moved  his  army  to  Long 
Island,  where  he  was  attacked  by  the  British  and  driven  up  the  Hudson  to 
White  Plains. 

2.  Later  in  the  year  (1776),  Washington  crossed  the  Hudson  and  re- 
treated through  New  Jersey  to  Pennsylvania ;  then  he  turned  about,  won  the 
battles  of  Trenton  (December  26,  1776)  and  Princeton  (January  3,  1777), 
and  spent  the  rest  of  the  winter  in  New  Jersey. 

3.  The  British  plan  for  the  campaign  of  1777  was  to  cut  off  New 
England  from  the  Middle  States ;  Burgoyne  was  to  come  down  from  Canada 
and  meet  Howe,  who  was  to  move  up  the  Hudson. 

4.  Burgoyne  lost  several  battles,  and  was  forced  to  surrender  at  Sara- 
toga (October  17, 1777). 

5.  Howe  put  off  going  up  the  Hudson  till  too  late ;  instead,  he  de- 
feated Washington  at  Brandywine  Creek  (September  11,  1777),  and  cap- 
tured Philadelphia.  Washington  then  attacked  Howe  at  Germantown,  was 
defeated,  and  spent  the  winter  at  Valley  Forge. 

6.  After  Burgoyne's  surrender,  France  recognized  our  independence 
(February,  1778)  and  joined  us  in  the  war. 

7.  Fearing  a  French  attack  on  New  York,  the  British  left  Philadelphia 
(June,  1778);  Washington  followed  and  fought  the  battle  of  Monmouth; 
l^ut  the  British  went  on  to  New  York,  and  for  three  years  Washington  re- 
mained near  that  city. 

8.  Congress,  in  December,  1775,  created  a  little  navy;  but  some  of 
these  vessels  never  got  to  sea ;  others  under  Hopkins  and  Barry  won  vic- 
tories during  1776. 

9.  In  1777  the  cruisers  were  sent  to  British  waters  and  under  Wilkes 
and  others  harried  British  coasts. 

10.   In  1778  Paul  Jones  sailed  around  Ireland  and  in   1779  he  won  his 
great  victory  in  the  Bonlwmme  Richard. 


CHAPTER   XV 
THE  WAR  IN   THE   WEST   AND   IN   THE  SOUTH 

The  West.  —  After  Great  Britain  obtained  from  France 
the  country  between  the  mountains  and  the  Mississippi,  the 
British  king,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  143),  forbade  settlement  west 
of  the  mountains.  But  the  westward  movement  of  population 
was  not  to  be  stopped  by  a  proclamation.     The  hardy  frontiers- 


,"7/  ,/\Vnewyo>k 


ttsbuii; 
t.CuiubrXl.inti     2J^\ — r— '  I'l 


^//  sA^^^ 


ex     L\      1 

SOUTH  CAROLINA  S^^ 


The  West  during  the  Revolution. 

men  gave  it  no  heed,  and,  passing  over  the  mountains  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  they  hunted,  trapped,  and  made 
settlements  in  the  forbidden  land. 

Tennessee.  —  Thus,  in  1769,  William  Bean  of  North  Caro- 
lina  built  a  cabin  on   the  banks  of  the  Watauga  Creek  and 

181 


182 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


began  the  settlement  of  what  is  now  Tennessee.  The  next 
year  James  Robertson  and  many  others  followed  and  dotted 
the  valleys  of  the  Holston  and  the  Clinch  with  clearings  and 
log  cabins.  These  men  at  first  were  without  government  of 
any  sort,  so  they  formed  an  association  and  for   some   years 

governed  themselves;  but  in 
1776  their  delegates  were 
seated  in  the  legislature  of 
North  Carolina,  and  next  year 
their  settlements  were  organ- 
ized as  Washington  county  in 
that  state.  Robertson  soon 
(1779)  led  a  colony  further 
west  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cumberland  founded  Nash- 
boro,  now  called  Nashville. 

Kentucky. — The  year 
(1769)  that  Bean  went  into 
Tennessee,  Daniel  Boone,  one 
of  the  great  men  of  frontier 
history,  entered  what  is  now 
Kentucky.  Others  followed, 
and  despite  Indian  wars  and 
massacres,  Boonesboro,  Har- 
rodsburg,  and  Lexington  were 
founded  before  1777.     These 


Indian  attacking  a  frontiersman. 


backwoodsmen  also  were  for  a  time  without  any  government; 
but  in  December,  1776,  Virginia  organized  the  region  as  a 
county  with  the  present  boundaries  of  Kentucky.  ^ 

George  Rogers  Clark.  —  In  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio 
were  a  few  old  French  towns,  —  Detroit,  Kaskaskia,  Vincennes, 
—  and  a  few  forts  built  by  the  French  and  garrisoned  by  the 

1  About  this  time  the  settlers  on  the  upper  Ohio  River  (in  what  is  now 
West  Virginia  and  southwestern  Pennsylvania)  became  eager  for  statehood. 
Both  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  claimed  their  allegiance.  They  asked  Con- 
gress, therefore,  for  recognition  as  the  state  of  Westsylvania,  the  fourteenth 
province  of  the  American  Confederacy.     Congress  did  not  grant  their  prayer. 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  WEST  183 

British,  from  whom  the  Indians  obtained  guns  and  powder 
to  attack  the  frontier.  Against  these  forts  and  villages 
George  Rogers  Clark,  a  young  Virginian,  planned  an  expedi- 
tion which  was  approved  by  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of 
Virginia.  Henry  could  give  him  little  aid,  but  Clark  was 
determined  to  go ;  and  in  1778,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty 
men,  left  Pittsburg  in  boats,  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  its  mouth, 
marched  across  the  swamps  and  prairies  of  south-western 
Illinois,  and  took  Kaskaskia. 

Vincennes^  thereupon  surrendered ;  but  was  soon  recaptured 
by  the  British  general  at  Detroit  with  a  band  of  Indians.  But 
Clark,  after  a  dreadful  march  across  country  in  midwinter, 
attacked  the  fort  in  the  dead  of  night,  captured  it,  and  then 
conquered  the  country  near  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  rivers,  and 
held  it  for  Virginia.^ 

Spain  in  the  West. — The  conquest  was  most  timely;  for 
in  XJ'^^  Spain  joined  in  the  war  against  Great  Britain,  seized 
towns  and  British  forts  in  Florida,  and  in  January,  1781,  sent 
out  from  St.  Louis  a  band  of  Spaniards  and  Indians  who 
marched  across  Illinois  and  took  possession  of  Fort  St.  Joseph 
in  what  is  now  southwestern  Michigan,  occupied  it,  and 
claimed  the  Northwest  for  Spain. 

The  South  Invaded.  —  Near  the  end  of  1778,  the  British 
armies  held  strong  positions  at  New  York  and  Newport,  and 
the  French  fleet  under  D'Estaing  was  in  the  West  Indies. 
The  British  therefore  felt  free  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  South. 
A   fleet   and    army   accordingly  sailed    from   New  York    and 

1  Read  Thompson's  Alice  of  Old  Vincennes. 

2  Farther  east,  meantime,  a  band  of  savages  led  by  Colonel  John  Butler 
swept  down  from  Fort  Niagara,  entered  Wyoming  Valley  in  northeastern  Penn- 
sylvania, near  the  site  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  perpetrated  one  of  the  most  awful 
massacres  in  history  (July  4,  1778).  (Read  Campbell's  poem  Gertrude  of  Wyo- 
ming). A  little  later  another  band,  led  by  a  son  of  Butler,  burned  the  village 
of  Cherry  Valley  in  New  York,  and  murdered  many  of  the  inhabitants — men, 
women,  and  children.  Cruelties  of  this  sort  could  not  go  unpunished.  In  the 
summer  of  1779,  therefore.  General  Sullivan  with  an  army  invaded  the  Indian 
country  in  central  New  York,  burned  forty  Indian  villages,  destroyed  their  crops, 
cut  down  their  fruit  trees,  and  brought  the  Indians  to  the  verge  of  famine. 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  SOUTH  185 

(December  29,  1778)  captured  Savannah.  Georgia  was  then 
overrun,  was  declared  conquered,  and  the  royal  governor  was 
reestablished  in  office. ^ 

The  Americans  Repulsed  at  Savannah.  — Governor  Rutledge 
of  South  Carolina  now  appealed  to  D'Estaing,  who  at  once 
broug-ht  his  fleet  from  the  West  Indies  ;  and  Savannah  was 
besieged  by  the  American  forces  under  Lincoln  and  tlie  French 
under  D'Estaing.  After  a  long  siege,  an  assault  was  made  on 
the  British  defenses  (October,  1779),  in  which  the  brave 
Pulaski  was  slain  and  D'Estaing  was  wounded.  The  French 
then  sailed  away,  and  Lincoln  fell  back  into  South  Carolina. 

British  capture  Charleston.  —  Hearing  of  this.  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  and  Lord  Cornwallis  sailed  with  British  troops  from 
New  York  (December,  1779)  to  Savannah.  Thence  the  British 
marched  overland  to  Charleston.  Lincoln  did  all  he  could  to 
defend  the  city,  but  in  May,  1780,  was  compelled  to  surrender. 
South  Carolina  was  then  overrun  by  the  British,  and  Clinton 
returned  to  New  York,  leaving  Cornwallis  in  command. 

Partisan  Leaders.  —  South  Carolina  now  became  the  seat 
of  a  bitter  partisan  war.  The  Tories  there  clamored  for  re- 
venge. That  no  man  should  be  neutral,  Cornwallis  ordered 
every  one  to  declare  for  or  against  the  king,  and  sent  officers 
with  troops  about  the  state  to  enroll  the  royalists  in  the  militia. 
The  whole  population  was  thus  arrayed  in  two  hostile  parties. 
The  patriots  could  not  offer  organized  opposition;  but  little 
bands  of  them  found  refuge  in  the  woods,  swamps,  and  moun- 
tain valleys,  whence  they  issued  to  attack  the  British  troops 
and  the  Tories.  Led  by  Andrew  Pickens,  Thomas  Sumter, 
and  Francis  Marion  whom  the  British  called  the  Swamp  Fox, 
they  won  many  desperate  fights. ^ 

1  Congress  now  put  Lincoln  in  command  in  the  South  ;  but  when  he  marched 
into  Georgia,  the  British  set  off  to  attack  Charleston,  sacking  houses  and 
slaughtering  cattle  as  they  went.  This  move  forced  Lincoln  to  follow  them, 
and  having  been  joined  by  Pulaski,  he  compelled  the  British  to  retreat. 

2  Four  novels  by  Simms, —  The  Partisan^  Mellichampe,  Katharine  Walton, 
and  The  Scout, —  and  Horseshoe  Bohinson,  by  Kennedy,  are  famous  stories 
relating  to  the  Revolution  in  the  South.    Read  Bryant's  Song  of  Marion'' s  Men. 


186 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


Camden.  —  Congress,  however,  had  not  abandoned  the  South. 
Two  thousand  men  under  De  Kalb  were  marching  south  before 
the  surrender  of  Charleston.  After  it,  a  call  for  troops  was 
made  on  all  the  states  south  of  Pennsylvania,  and  General 
Gates,  then  called  "  the  Hero  of  Saratoga,"  was  sent  to  join 
De  Kalb  and  take  command.  The  most  important  point  in 
the  interior  of  South  Carolina  was  Camden,  and  against  this 
Gates  marched  his  troops.  But  he  managed  matters  so  badly 
that  near  Camden  the  American  army  was  beaten,  routed, 
and  cut  to  pieces  by  the  British  under  Cornwallis  (August  16, 

1780).! 

The  War  in  the  North.  —  What 
meantime  had  happened  in  the  North? 
The  main  armies  near  New  York  had 
done  little  fighting ;  but  the  British 
had  made  a  number  of  sudden  raids 
on  the  coast.  In  1779  Norfolk  and 
Portsmouth  in  Virginia,  and  New 
Haven  and  several  other  towns  in 
Connecticut  had  been  attacked,  and 
ships  and  houses  burned.  In  New 
York,  Clinton  captured  Stony  Point ; 
but  Anthony  Wayne  led  a  force  of 
Americans  against  the  fort,  and  at 
dead  of  night,  by  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  assaults  in  the  world's  military  history,  recaptured 
it  (July,  1779). 2 


Wayne's  camp  kettle. 

Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Historical  Society. 


1  A  large  number  of  men  were  killed,  and  a  thousand  taken  prisoners. 
Among  the  dead  was  De  Kalb.  Among  the  living  was  Gates,  who  fled  among 
the  first  and  made  such  haste  to  escape  that  he  covered  two  hundred  miles  in 
four  days. 

2  The  purpose  of  the  attack  on  Stony  Point  was  to  draw  the  British  from 
Connecticut.  The  capture  had  the  desired  result,  and  Stony  Point  was  then 
abandoned.  The  fort  stood  on  a  rocky  promontory  with  the  water  of  the  Hudson 
River  on  three  sides.  On  the  fourth  was  a  morass  crossed  by  a  narrow  road 
which  at  high  tide  was  under  water.  The  country  between  the  British  forces  in 
New  York  and  the  American  army  on  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson  was  known 
as  the  neutral  ground,  and  is  the  scene  of  Cooper's  great  novel  The  Spy. 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  SOUTH 


187 


Treason  of  Arnold.  —  Stony  Point  was  one  of  several  forts 
built  by  order  of  Washington  to  defend  the  Hudson.  The 
chief  fort  was  at  West  Point,  the  commancj  of  which,  in  July, 
1780,  was  given  to  Arnold.  When  the  British  left  Philadel- 
phia in  1778,  Arnold  was  made  military  commander  there,  and 
so  conducted  himeelf  that  he  was  sentenced  by  court-martial 


At  West  Point:  looking  up  the  Hudson. 


to  be  reprimanded  by  Washington.  This  censure,  added  to 
previous  unfair  treatment  by  Congress,  led  him  to  seek  revenge 
in  the  ruin  of  his  country.  To  bring  this  about  he  asked 
for  the  command  of  West  Point,  and  having  received  it,  offered 
to  surrender  the  fort  to  the  British. 

Clinton's  agent  in  the  matter  was  Major  John  Andre 
(an'dra),  who  one  day  in  September,  1780,  came  up  the  river 
in  the  British  ship  Vulture,  went  ashore,  and  at  night  met  Arnold 

MOM.  BRIBF — 12 


u 


188  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

near  Stony  Point.  Morning  came  before  the  terms  ^  of  surren- 
der were  arranged,  and  the  Vulture  having  been  fired  on  dropped 
down  the  river  out  of  range. 

West  Point  Saved.  —  Tlius  left  within  the  American  lines, 
Andre  crossed  the  river  to  the  east  shore,  and  started  for  New 
York  by  land,  but  was  stopped  by  three  Am^ricans,^  searched, 
and  papers  of  great  importance  were  found  in  his  stockings. 
Despite  an  offer  of  his  watch  and  money  for  his  release,  Andre 
was  delivered  to  the  nearest  American  officer,  was  later  tried  by 
court-martial,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  as  a  spy. 

The  American  officer  to  whom  Andre  was  delivered,  not 
suspecting  Arnold,  sent  the  news  to  him  as  well  as  to  Washing- 
ton. Arnold  received  the  message  first  ;  knowing  that  Wash- 
ington was  at  hand,  he  at  once  procured  a  boat,  was  rowed 
down  the  river  to  the  Vulture^  and  escaped.  From  then  till 
-the  end  of  the  war  he  served  as  an  officer  in  the  British  army. 

The  disasters  at  Charleston  and  Camden,  and  the  narrow 
I  /  escape  from  disaster  at  West  Point,  made  1780  the  most  dis- 
heartening year  of  the  war. 

Kings  Mountain.  —  But  the  tide  quickly  turned.  After  his 
victory  at  Camden,  Cornwallis  began  to  invade  North  Carolina, 
and  sent  Colonel  Ferguson  into  the  South  Carolina  highlands  to 
enlist  all  the  Tories  he  could  find.  As  Ferguson  advanced  into 
the  hill  country,  the  backwoodsmen  and  mountaineers  rallied 
^  from  all  sides,. and  led  by  Sevier,  Shelby,  and  Williams,  sur- 
rounded him  and  forced  him  to  make  a  stand  on  the  summit  of 
Kings  Mountain,  October  7,  1780.  Fighting  in  true  Indian 
fashion  from  behind  every  tree  and  rock,  they  shot  Ferguson's 
army  to  pieces,  killed  him,  and  forced  the  few  survivors  to  sur- 
render. This  victory  forced  Cornwallis  to  put  off  his  conquest 
\)   of  North  Carolina. 

1  The  British  were  to  come  up  the  river  and  attack  West  Point.  Arnold  was 
to  man  the  defenses  in  such  a  way  that  they  could  easily  be  taken,  one  at  a 
time,  and  so  afford  an  excuse  for  surrendering  them,  with  the  three  thousand 
men  under  Arnold's  command. 

2  The  names  of  Andre's  captors  were  John  Paulding,  David  Williams,  and 
Isaac  Van  Wart.      Congress  gave  each  a  medal  and  a  pension  for  life. 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  SOUTH 


189 


Cowpens.  —  General  Greene  was  now  sent  to  replace  Gates 
in  command  of  the  patriot  army  in  the  South,  He  was  too 
weak  to  attack  Cornwallis,  but  by  dividing  his  army  and  secur- 
ing the  aid  of  the  partisan  bands  he  hoped  to  annoy  the  British 
with  raids.  Morgan,  who  commanded  one  of  these  divisions,  was 
so  successful  that  Cornwallis  sent  Tarleton  with  a  thousand  men 
against  him.  Morgan  offered  battle  on  the  grounds  known  as 
the  Cowpens,  and  there  Tarleton  was  routed  and  three  fourths 
of  his  men  were  killed,  wounded,  or  taken  prisoners. 


Battle  of  the  Cowpens. 

The  Great  Retreat. — This  victory  won,  Morgan  set  off  to 
join  Greene,  with  Cornwallis  himself  in  hot  pursuit.  When 
Greene  heard  the  news,  he  determined  to  draw  the  British 
general  far  northward  and  then  fight  him  wherever  he  would  be 
at  most  disadvantage.  1  The  retreat  of  the  American  army 
was  therefore  continued  to  the  border  of  Virginia. 

1  To  accomplish  this  Greene  sent  the  greater  part  of  his  army  northward 
under  General  Huger,  while  he  with  a  small  guard  hurried  across  country,  and 
took  command  of  Morgan's  army.    And  now  a  most  exciting  chase  began. 


'■'■y 


190 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


V 


Guilford  Court  House.  —  Having   received    reenforcements, 
Greene  turned  southward  and  offered  battle  at  Guilford  Court 

House  (March  15,  1781). 
A  desperate  fight  ensued, 
and  when  nightcame,  Greene 
retired,  leaving  the  British 
unable  to  follow  him.  Corn- 
wallis  had  lost  one  quarter 
of  his  army  in  killed  and 
wounded.  He  was  in  the  . 
midst  of  a  hostile  country, 
too  weak  to  stay,  and  un- 
willing to  confess  defeat  by 
retreating  to  South  Caro- 
lina. Thus  outgeneraled 
he  hurried  to  Wilmington,  ^ 
where  he  could  be  aided  by 
the  British  fleet. 

Greene  followed  for  a 
time,  and  then  turned  into 
South  Carolina,  drove  the 
British  out  of  Camden,  and 
by  the  4th  of  July  had  re- 
conquered half  of  South 
Carolina.  Late  in  August, 
he  forced  the  British  back  to 
Eutaw  Springs,  where  (Sep- 
tember 8,  1781)  a  desperate  battle  was  fought. ^  The  British 
troops  held  their  ground,  but  on  the  following  night  they  set 


Lafayette  monument,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Cornwallis  destroyed  his  heavy  baggage  that  he  might  move  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  vainly  strove  to  get  near  enough  to  Greene  to  make  him  fight.  Greene  with 
great  skill  kept  just  out  of  reach  and  for  ten  days  lured  the  British  farther  and 
farther  north.  At  Guilford  Court  House  Greene  and  Morgan  were  joined  by  the 
main  army.  Cornwallis  then  proclaimed  North  Carolina  conquered,  and  called 
on  all  Loyalists  to  join  him. 

1  Two  good  works  relating  to  these  events  are  The  Forayers  and  Eutaw,  by 
Simms. 


THE   WAR   IN    THE   SOUTH  191 

off  for  Charleston,  where  they  remained  until  the  end  of  the 
war.i 

Yorktown.  —  From  Wilmington  Cojriwallis  marched  to 
southeastern  Virginia,  where  a  British  force  under  Benedict 
Arnold  joined  him.  He  then  set  off  to  capture  Lafayette, 
who  had  been  sent  to  defend  Virginia  from  Arnold.  But 
Lafayette  retreated  to  the  back  country,  till  reenforcements 
came.  When  Cornwallis  could  drive  him  no  farther,  the  British 
army  retreated  to  the  coast,  and  fortified  itself  at  Yorktown. 

In  August  Washington  received  word  that  a  large  French 
fleet  under  De  Grasse  was  about  to  sail  from  the  West  Indies 
to  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  saw  that  the  supreme  moment  had  come. 
Laying  aside  his  plan  for  an  attack  on  New  York,  he  hurried 
southward,  marched  his  army  to  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  then  took  it  by  ships  to  Yorktown. 2  The  French  fleet 
was  already  in  the  bay.  Some  French  troops  had  joined  Lafay- 
ette, and  Cornwallis  was  already  surrounded  when  Washington 
arrived.  The  siege  was  now  pressed  with  overwhelming  force, 
and  Cornwallis  surrendered   on   October  19,  1781.         «■  l^ 

End  of  the  War.  —  Swift  couriers  carried  the  news  to 
Philadelphia,  where,  at  the  dead  of  night,  the  people  were 
roused  from  sleep  by  the  watchman  crying  in  the  street,  "Past 
two  o'clock  and  Cornwallis  is  taken."  In  the  morning 
Congress  received  the  dispatches  and  went  in  solemn  procession 
to  a  church  to  give  thanks  to  God. 

When  the  British  prime  minister,  ItiOrd_ North,  heard  the  1^ 
news,  he  exclaimed,  "  All  is  over  ;    all  is  over ! "     The  king 

1  While  these  things  were  happening  in  the  South,  a  French  army  of 
6000  men  under  Rochambeau  arrived  at  Newport  (1780),  from  which  the 
British  had  withdrawn  in  1779.  There,  for  a  while,  the  French  fleet  was 
blockaded  by  the  British,  and  the  troops  remained  to  aid  the  fleet  in  case  of 
necessity.  The  next  year,  however,  this  army  marched  across  Connecticut  and 
joined  Washington's  forces  (July,  1781),  and  preparations  were  begun  for  an 
attack  on  New  York. 

2  When  Clinton  realized  that  Washington  was  on  the  way  to  Yorktown,  he 
sent  Arnold  on  a  raid  into  Connecticut,  in  hope  of  forcing  Washington  to 
return.  Early  in  September  Arnold  attacked  New  London,  carried  one  of  its 
forts  by  storm,  and  set  fire  to  the  town,  but  was  driven  off  by  the  minutemen. 


192 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


Washington's  headquarters  at  Newburgh. 

From  an  old  print. 


alone  remained  stubborn,  and  for  a  while  insisted  on  holding 
Georgia,   Charleston,   and    New    York.      But   his   advisers   in 

time      persuaded 
him  to  yield,  and 
(November      30, 
1782)   a  prelimi- 
nary   treaty,    ac- 
knowledging the 
independence    of 
the  United  States, 
was     signed      at 
Paris. ^    The  final 
treaty    was     not 
signed    till  _Sep-_ 
temb^r  3^  1783.3 
In  November  the  Continental  army  was  disbanded,  and  in 
December,  at  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  sitting,  Washing- 
ton   formally  surrendered   his   command,  and  went   home   to 
Mount  Vernon. 3 

1  Congress  appointed  Benjamin  Franklin  (our  minister  in  France) ,  John 
Adams  (in  Holland),  John  Jay  (in  Spain),  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  Henry  Laurens 
to  negotiate  the  treaty.  Jefferson's  appointment  came  too  late  for  him  to  serve; 
the  other  four  signed  the  treaty  of  1782,  and  Franklin,  Adams,  and  Jay  signed 
the  treaty  of  1783. 

2  After  the  surrender  of  CornwaUis,  Washington  returned  with  his  army  to 
the  Hudson  and  made  his  headquarters  at  Newburgh.  In  April,  1783,  a  cessa- 
tion of  war  on  land  and  sea  was  formally  proclaimed,  and  the  British  prepared 
to  leave  New  York.  Charleston  and  Savannah  were  evacuated  in  1782,  but  No- 
vember 25,  1783,  came  before  the  last  British  soldier  left  New  York.  When 
the  troops  under  Washington  entered  New  York  city,  they  found  a  British  flag 
nailed  to  the  staff,  the  halyards  gone,  and  the  staff  soaped.  A  sailor  climbed  the 
pole  by  nailing  on  cleats,  pulled  down  the  British  flag,  and  reeved  new  halyards. 
The  stars  and  stripes  were  then  raised  and  saluted  with  thirteen  guns. 

3  Washington  refused  to  be  paid  for  his  services.  Actual  expenses  during 
the  war  were  all  he  would  take,  and  these  amounted  to  about  $70,000. 


SUMMARY 

1.  Despite  the  king's  proclamation  in  1763,  frontiersmen  soon  crossed 
the  mountains  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

2.  In  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio  were  a  few  British  forts,  some  of 


THE   WAR  IN  THE   SOUTH 


193 


which  George  Rogers  Clark  captured  in  1778  and  1779  ;  but  Fort  St.  Joseph 
in  Michigan  was  captured  by  the  Spanish. 

3.  At  the  end  of  1778  the  British  began  an  attack  on  the  Southern 
states  by  capturing  Savannah. 

4.  Georgia  was  then  overrun.  The  Americans,  aided  by  a  French 
fleet,  attacked  Savannah  and  were  repulsed  (1779). 

5.  In  1780,  reenforced  by  a  fleet  and  army  from  New  York,  the  British 
captured  Charleston  and  overran  South  Carolina.  The  Americans  under 
Gates  were  badly  beaten  at  Camden  ;  but  a  British  force  was  destroyed  at 
Kings  Mountain. 

6.  In  the  same  year  Benedict  Arnold  turned  traitor,  and  sought  in  vain 
to  deliver  West  Point  to  the  British. 

7.  In  the  following  year  (1781)  our  arms  were  generally  victorious. 
Morgan  won  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens ;  Greene  outgeneraled  Cornwallis 
and  then  reconquered  South  Carolina.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Charleston 
and  Savannah  were  the  only  Southern  towns  held  by  the  British. 

8.  Cornwallis  marched  into  Virginia,  and  fortified  himself  at  York- 
town.  There  Washington,  aided  by  a  French  army  and  fleet,  forced  him 
to  surrender  (1781). 

9.  Peace  was  made  next  year,  our  independence  w^as  acknowledged, 
and  by  the  end  of  1783  the  last  British  soldiers  had  left  the  country. 


Painting  by  Rossiter  and  Mignot. 

Washington  and  Lafayette  at  Mount  Vernon. 


194 


'^ 


4^ 


m 

^ 

H 

c« 

< 

:^ 

w 

H 

-< 

J 

?; 

m 

w 

u 

<Jl 

9 

H 

H 

25 

^ 

H 

U 

H 

s 

«3 

H 

M 

o 

m 

Ul 

g 

H 

•i 

o 

X 

O 
H 

BS 

H 

<^ 

195 


CHAPTER   XVI 
AFTER  THE   WAR 

Our  Boundaries.  —  By  the  treaty  of  1783  our  country  was 
bounded  on  the  north  by  a  line  (very  much  as  at  present)  from 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River  in  Maine  to  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  ;  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi  River  ;  and  on  the  south 
by  the  parallel  of  31°  north  latitude  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Apalachicola,  and  then  by  the  present  south  boundary  of 
Georgia  to  the  sea.^ 

But  our  flag  did  not  as  yet  wave  over  every  part  of  the 
country  within  these  bounds.  Great  Britain,  claiming  that  cer- 
tain provisions  in  the  treaty  had  been  violated,  held  the  forts 
from  Lake  Champlain  to  Lake  Michigan  and  would  not  with- 
draw her  troops. 2  Spain,  having  received  the  Floridas  back 
from  Great  Britain  by  a  treaty  of  1783,  held  the  forts  at  Mem- 
phis, Baton  Rouge,  and  Vicksburg,  and  much  of  what  is  now 
Alabama  and  Mississippi.^ 

1  Both  France  and  Spain  had  tried  to  shut  ns  out  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Read  Flske's  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  pp.  17-25. 

2  By  the  treaty  of  1783  Congress  provided  that  all  debts  due  British  subjects 
might  be  recovered  by  law,  and  that  the  states  should  be  asked  to  pay  for  confis- 
cated property  of  the  Loyalists.  But  the  states  would  not  permit  the  recovery 
of  the  debts  nor  pay  for  the  property  taken  from  the  Loyalists.  Great  Britain, 
by  holding  the  forts  along  our  northern  frontier,  controlled  the  fur  trade  and  the 
Indians,  and  ruled  the  country  about  the  forts.  These  were  Dutchman's  Point, 
Point  au  Fer,  Oswegatchie,  Oswego,  Niagara,  Erie,  Detroit,  Mackinaw. 

^  To  understand  her  conduct  we  must  remember  that  in  1764,  shortly  after 
the  French  and  Indian  War,  Great  Britain  made  32°  28'  north  latitude  (through 
the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo,  p.  143)  the  north  boundary  of  West  Florida ;  and 
although  Great  Britain  in  her  treaty  with  us  made  31°  the  boundary  be- 
tween us  and  West  Florida,  Spain  insisted  that  it  should  be  32°  28'.  Spain's 
claim  to  th'e  Northwest,  founded  on  her  occupation  of  Fort  St.  Joseph  (p.  183), 
had  not  been  allowed ;  she  was  therefore  the  more  determined  to  expand  her 
claims  in  the  South. 

196 


AFTER  THE  WAR  197 

A  Central  Government.  —  From  1775  to  1781  the  states  were 
governed,  so  far  as  they  had  any  general  government,  by  the 
Continental  Congress.  During  these  years  there  was  no  writ- 
ten document  fixing  the  powers  of  Congress  and  limiting  the 
powers  of  the  states.  While  the  war  was  going  on.  Congress 
submitted  a  plan  for  a  general  government,  called  Articles  of 
Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union;  but  nearly  four  years 
passed  before  all  the.  states  accepted  it.  The  delay  was  caused 
by  the  refusal  of  Maryland  to  approve  the  Articles  unless  the 
states  having  sea-to-sea  charters  would  give  to  Congress,  for 
the  public  good,  the  lands  they  claimed  beyond  the  mountains.^ 

Congress  therefore  appealed  to  the  states  to  cede  their 
Western  lands.  If  they  would  do  this.  Congress  promised  to 
sell  the  lands,  use  the  money  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  United 
States,  and  cut  the  region  into  states  and  admit  them  into  the 
Union  at  the  proper  time.  New  York,  Connecticut,  and  Virginia 
at  last  agreed  to  give  up  their  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
River,  and  on  March  1,  1781,  the  Maryland  delegates  signed  L^^ 
the  Articles  and  by  so  doing  put  them  in  force. ^ 

The  Articles  of  Confederation.  —  In  the  government  set  up 
by  the  Articles  of  Confederation  there  was  no  President  of  the  [^^ 
United  States,  no  Supreme  Court,  no  Senate.  Congress  consisted 
of  a  single  body  to  which  each  state  sent  at  least  two  delegates,  . 
and  might  send  any  number  up  to  seven.  The  members  were 
elected  annually,  were  paid  by  the  states  they  represented,  could 
not  serve  more  than  three  years  in  six,  and  might  be  recalled  at 

1  The  states  claiming  such  lands  by  virtue  of  their  colonial  charters  were 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 
New  York  had  acquired  the  Iroquois  title  to  lands  in  the  West.  Her  claim  con- 
flicted with  those  of  Virginia,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts.  The  claims  of 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  covered  lands  included  in  the  Virginia  claim. 
Maryland  denied  the  validity  of  all  these  claims,  for  these  reasons:  (1)  the 
Mississippi  valley  belonged  to  France  till  1768  ;  (2)  when  France  gave  the  valley 
east  of  the  Mississippi  to  Great  Britain  in  17G3,  it  became  crown  land;  (3)  in 
1763  the  king  drew  the  line  around  the  sources  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  forbade  the  colonists  to  settle  beyond  that  line  (p.  143). 

2  The  Articles  were  not  to  go  into  effect  till  every  state  signed.  Maryland 
was  the  thirteenth  state  to  sign. 


198  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

any  time.  Each  state  cast  one  vote,  and  nine  affirmative  votes 
were  necessary  to  carry  any  important  measure.  Qpng^ress 
could  make  war  and  peace,  enter  into  treaties  with  foreign 
powers,  coin  money,  contract  debts  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States,  and  call  upon  each  state  for  its  share  of  the  general 
expenses. 

The  States  cede  Lands.  —  Although  three  states  had  tendered 
their  Western  lands  when  Maryland  signed  the  Articles,  the 
conditions  of  cession  were  not  at  once  accepted  by  Congress, 
and  some  time  passed  before  the  deeds  were  delivered.  By  the 
year  1786,  however,  the  claims  northwest  of  the  Ohio  had  been 
ceded  by  New  York",  Virginia,^  Massachusetts,  and  Connecti- 
cut.2  South  of  the  Ohio,  what  is  now  West  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky still  belonged  to  Virginia.  North  Carolina  offered  what  is 
now  Tennessee  to  Congress  in  1784,^  but  the  conditions  were  not 
then  accepted,  and  that  territory  was  not  turned  over  to  Con- 
gress till  1790.  The  long,  narrow  strip  of  western  land  owned 
by'  South  Carolina  was  ceded  to  Congress  in  1787.  South  of 
this  was  a  strip  owned  by  Georgia,  and  farther  south  lands  long 
in  dispute  between  Georgia  and  Spain  and  Congress.  Georgia 
did  not  accept  her  present  western  limits  till  1802. 

Migration  Westward.  —  Into  the  country  west  of  the  moun- 
tains the  people  were  moving  in  three  great  streams.  One  from 
New  England  was  pushing  out  along  the  Mohawk  valley  into 
central  New  York ;   another  from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 

1  Virginia  reserved  ownership  of  a  large  tract  called  the  Virginia  Military- 
Lands.  It  lay  in  what  is  now  Ohio  between  the  Scioto  and  Little  Miami  rivers 
(map,  p.  201),  and  was  used  to  pay  bounties  to  her  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 

2  Connecticut  reserved  the  ownership  (and  till  1800  the  government)  of  a 
tract  120  miles  long,  west  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  this  "  Western  Reserve  of  Con- 
necticut," some  500,000  acres  were  set  apart  in  1792  for  the  relief  of  persons 
whose  houses  and  farms  had  been  burned  and  plundered  by  the  British.  The 
rest  was  sold  and  the  money  used  as  a  school  fund. 

3  When  the  settlers  on  the  Watauga  (pp.  181,  182)  heard  of  this,  they 
became  alarmed  lest  Congress  should  not  accept  the  cession,  and  forming  a  new 
state  which  they  called  Franklin,  applied  to  Congress  for  admission  into  the 
Union.  No  attention  was  given  to  the  application.  North  Carolina  repealed 
the  act  of  cession,  arranged  matters  with  the  settlers,  and  in  1787  the  Franklin 
government  dissolved. 


AFTER  THE  WAll 


199 


was  pouring   its   population  into    Kentucky;    the  third    from 
North  Carolina  was  overrunning  Tennessee. 

For  this  movement  the  hard  times  which  followed  the  Revo- 
lution were  largely  the  cause.     Compared  with  our  time,  the 
means  of  making  a  livelihood  were  few  and  far  less  remunera- 
tive.    Great  mills  and  factories  each  employing  thousands  of 
persons  had  no  existence.     The  im- 
ports  from   Great   Britain    far  sur- 
passed   in    value   our    exports;    the 
difference    was     settled     in     specie 
(coin)    taken    from 
the   country.      The 
people    were    poor, 
and  as  land  in  the 
"West     was     cheap, 
they  left   the    East 
and  went  westward. 

Routes  to  the 
Ohio  Valley.  — New 
England  people 
bound  to  the  Ohio 
valley  went  through 
Connecticut  to 
Kingston,  New 
York,  on  across  New 
Jersey  to  Easton, 
Pennsylvania,  and  thence  to  Bedford,  where  they  struck  the 
road  cut  years  before  by  the  troops  of  General  Forbes,  and  by 
it  went  to  Pittsburg  (p.  194).  Settlers  from  Maryland  and 
Virginia  went  generally  to  Fort  Cumberland  in  Maryland, 
and  then  on  by  Braddock's  Road  to  Pittsburg,  or  turned 
off  and  reached  the  Monongahela  at  Redstone,  or  the  Ohio 
at  Wheeling  (map,  p.  201). 

Such  was  the  rush  to  the  Ohio  valley  that  each  spring  and 
summer  hundreds  of  boats  and  arks  left  Pittsburg  and  Wheeling 
or  Redstone,  and  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  Maysville,  Louisville, 


A  settler's  log  cabin. 


200 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


Ohio  River  flatboat  of  about  1840. 

The  boat  is  like  those  used  in  earlier  times. 

and  other  places  in  Kentucky.^  The  flatboat  was  usually  twelve 
feet  wide  and  forty  feet  long,  with  high  sides  and  a  flat  or 
slightly  arched  top,  and  was  steered,  and  when  necessary  was 
rowed,  by  long  oars  or  sweeps.  Some  were  arranged  to  carry 
cattle  as  well  as  household  goods. 

The  Ohio  Company  of  Associates.  —  Meanwhile,  some  old 
soldiers  of  New  England  and  New  Jersey  who  had  claims  for 
bounty  lands,^  organized  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates,  and 

1  The  favorite  time  for  the  river  trip  was  from  February  to  May,  when  there 
was  high  water  in  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela. 
Then  the  voyage  from  Pittsburg  to  Louisville  could  be  made  in  eight  or  ten  days. 
An  observer  at  Pittsburg  in  1787  saw  50  flatboats  depart  in  six  weeks.  Another 
man  at  Fort  Finney  counted  177  passing  boats  with  2700  people  in  eight 
months. 

2  In  order  to  encourage  enlistment  in  the  army,  Congress  had  offered  to 
give  a  tract  of  land  to  each  officer  and  man  who  served  through  the  war.  The 
premium  in  land,  or  gift,  over  and  above  pay,  was  known  as  land  bounty. 


AFTER  THE   WAR 


201 


in  1787  sent  an  agent  (Manasseh  Cutler)  to  New  York,  where 
Congress  was  sitting,  and  bade  him  buy  a  great  tract  of  land 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  on  which  they  might  settle. 

The  Ordinance  of  1787.  —  When  Cutler  reached  New  York, 
he  found  Congress  debating  a  measure  of  great  importance. 
This  was  an  ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  Northwest 


ioO  150 


The  southern  part  of  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Territory,  including  the  whole  region  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
Ohio,    and    from    Pennsylvania    to    the    Mississippi.       When  (^ 
passed,  this  famous  Ordinance  of  1787  provided — 

1.  That  until  five  thousand  free  white  males  lived  in  the   . 
territory,  the  governing  body  should  be  a  governor  and  three 
judges  appointed  by  Congress. 

2.  That  when  there  were  five  thousand  free  white  men  in 
the  territory,  they  might  elect  a  legislature  and  send  a  delegate    3^ 
to  Congress. 

3.  That  slavery  should  not  be  permitted  in  the  territory,    \ 
but  that  fugitive  slaves  should  be  returned. 

4.  That  the  territory  should    in  time  be  cut   up  into  not    ^f 
more  than  five,  or  less  than  three,  states. 

5.  That  when  the  population  of  each  division  numbered     " 


202  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

sixty  thousand,  it  should  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  original  states. 

Ohio  Settled.  —  After  the  ordinance  was  passed,  Cutler 
bought  five  million  acres  of  land  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  and 
in  the  winter  of  1787-88  a  party  of  young  men  sent  out  by 
the  Ohio  Company  made  their  way  from  New  England  to  a 
branch  of  the  Monongahela  River.  There  they  built  a  great 
boat,  and  when  the  ice  broke  up,  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
lands  of  the  Ohio  Company,  where  they  erected  a  few  log  huts 
and  a  fort  of  hewn  timber  which  they  called  Campus  Martins. 
The  little  settlement  was  called  Marietta. ^ 

Farther  down  the  Ohio,  on  land  owned  by  John  Cleve 
Symmes  and  associates,  Columbia  and  Losantiville,  afterward 
called  Cincinnati,  were  founded  in  1788. 

-^  State  Boundaries.  —  The  old  charters  which  led  to  the  con- 
flicting claims  to  land  in  the  West,  caused  like  disputes  in  the 
East.  Massachusetts  claimed  a  strip  of  country  embracing 
western  New  York,  and  did  not  settle  the  dispute  till  1786.2 
A  similar  dispute  between  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  was 
settled  in  1782.^  New  York  claimed  all  Vermont  as  having 
once  been  part  of  New  Netherland ;  but  Vermont  was  really 

1  Kead  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  505-519. 
All  the  land  bought  by  the  Ohio  Company  was  not  for  its  use.  A  large  part  was 
for  another,  known  as  the  Scioto  Company,  which  sent  an  agent  to  Paris  and  sold 
the  land  to  a  French  company.  This,  in  turn,  sold  in  small  pieces  to  Frenchmen 
eager  to  leave  a  country  then  in  a  state  of  revolution.  In  1790,  accordingly, 
several  hundred  emigrants  reached  Alexandria,  Virginia,  and  came  on  to  the 
little  square  of  log  huts,  with  a  blockhouse  at  each  corner,  which  the  company  had 
built  for  them  and  named  Gallipolis.  Most  of  them  were  city -bred  artisans, 
unfit  for  frontier  life,  who  suffered  greatly  in  the  wilderness. 

2  The  land  was  included  in  the  limits  laid  down  in  the  charter  of  Massachu- 
setts ;  but  that  charter  was  granted  after  the  Dutch  were  in  actual  possession  of 
the  upper  Hudson.  In  1786  a  north  and  south  line  was  drawn  82  miles  west  of 
the  Delaware.  Ownership  of  the  land  west  of  that  line  went  to  Massachusetts  ; 
but  jurisdiction  over  the  land,  the  right  to  govern,  was  given  to  New  York. 

3  Connecticut,  under  her  sea-to-sea  grant  from  the  crown,  claimed  a  strip 
across  northern  Pennsylvania,  bought  some  land  there  from  the  Indians  (1754), 
and  some  of  her  people  settled  on  the  Susquehanna  in  what  was  known  as  the 
Wyoming  Valley  (1762  and  1769).  The  dispute  which  followed,  first  with  the 
Penns  and  then  with  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  dragged  on  till  a  court  of  arbi- 
tration appointed  by  the  Continental  Congress  decided  in  favor  of  Pennsylvania. 


AFTER  THE  WAR  203 

an  independent  republic. ^  In  Kentucky  the  people  were  in- 
sisting that  their  country  be  separated  from  Virginia  and  made 
a  state. 

Trouble  with  Spain.  —  Congress  had  trouble  in  trying  to  se- 
cure from  foreign  nations  fair  treatment  for  our  commerce,  and 
was  involved  in  a  dispute  over  the  navigation  of  the  Missisr 
sippi.  Spain  owned  both  banks  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
denied  the  right  of  Americans  to  go  in  or  out  without  her  con- 
sent. The  Spanish  minister  who  came  over  in  1785  was  ready 
to  make  a  commercial  treaty  if  the  river  was  closed  to  naviga- 
tion for  twenty-five  years,  and  the  Eastern  states  were  quite 
ready  to  agree  to  it.  But  the  people  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see threatened  to  leave  the  Union  if  cut  off  from  the  sea,  and 
no  treaty  was  made  with  Spain  till  1795. 

The  Weakness  of  the  Confederation. — The  question  of  trade 
and  commerce  with  foreign  powers  and  between  the  states  was 
very  serious,  and  the  weakness  of  Congress  in  this  and  other 
matters  soon  wrecked  the  Confederation. 

"/C      1.    In  the  first  place,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  gave 
Congress  no  power  to  levy  taxes  of  any  kind.     Money,  there-    [ 
fore,  could  not  be  obtained  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  United 
States,  or  the  annual  cost  of  government.^ 

y      2.    Congress  had  no  power  to  regulate  the  foreign  trade.    As 
there  were  few  articles  manufactured  in  the  country,  china,  glass,     ] 
cutlery,  edged  tools,  hardware,  woolen,  linen,  and  many  other 
articles  of  daily  use  were  imported  from  Great    Britain.     As 

1  Because  of  Champlain's  discovery  of  the  lake  which  now  bears  his  name 
(p.  115),  the  French  claimed  most  of  Vermont ;  on  their  early  maps  it  appears  as 
part  of  New  France,  and  as  late  as  1739  they  made  settlements  in  it.  About 
1750  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  granted  land  in  Vermont  to  settlers,  and 
the  country  began  to  be  known  as  "  New  Hampshire  Grants  ";  but  in  1763  New 
York  claimed  it  as  part  of  the  region  given  to  the  Duke  of  York  in  1664.  This 
brought  on  a  bitter  dispute  which  was  still  raging  when,  in  1777,  the  settlers 
declared  New  Hampshire  Grants  "  a  free  and  independent  state  to  be  called  New 
Connecticut."  Later  the  name  was  changed  to  Vermont.  But  the  Continental 
Congress,  for  fear  of  displeasing  New  York,  never  recognized  Vermont  as 
a  state. 

2  Each  state  was  bound  to  pay  its  share  of  the  annual  expenses;  but  they 
failed  or  were  unable  to  do  so. 


204 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


Great  Britain  took  little  from  us,  these  goods  were  largely  paid 
for  in  specie,  which  grew  scarcer  and  scarcer  each  year.  Great 
Britain,  moreover,  hurt  our  trade  by  shutting  our  vessels  out  of 

her  West  Indies,  and  by 
heavy  duties  on  Ameri- 
can goods  coming  to  her 
ports  in  American  ships. ^ 
Congress,  having  no 
power  to  regulate  trade, 
could  not  retaliate  by 
treating  British  ships  in 
the  same  way. 

3.  Congress  had  no 
power  to  regulate  trade 
between  the  states.  As 
a   consequence,   some  of 


r 


JillofSixPence 


fcCuc 


^, 


tfie/}^^Jri 


amd^/nK^n^  unum^  of  caindJ'U/O^ 
V0V71.  at^/}^^ati^cfCr(Kir3^(ru7ui6&0^ 
f)  accotdci  in  oll'iycuyTnx'nti  ajrid/  i/n 

TreafuryPORT^MOUT 


'(3 


^ 


New  Hampshire  colonial  paper  money. 

Similar  bills  were  issued  by  the  states  before  1789. 


many  kinds  of  paper  money  as  there  were  states,  and  the  money 
issued  by  each  state  passed  in  others  at  all  sorts  of  value,  or 
not  at  all.     This  hindered  interstate  trade. 

y^  5.  Congress  could  not  enforce  treaties.  It  could  make 
treaties  with  other  countries,  but  only  the  states  could  compel  the 
people  to  observe  them,  and  the  states  did  not  choose  to  do  so. 


V 


5 


the  states  laid  heavy 
duties  on  goods  imported 
from  other  states.  Re- 
taliation followed,  and 
the  safety  of  the  Union 
was  endangered. 

4.  Congress  did  not 
have  sole  power  to  coin 
money  and  regulate  the 
value  thereof.  There 
were,  therefore,  nearly  as 


1  Why  would  not  Great  Britain  make  a  trade  treaty  with  us  ?     Read  Fiske's 
Critical  Period,  pp.  136-142  ;  also  pp.  142-147,  about  difficulties  between  the 


AFTER  THE  WAR  205 

Congress  asks  for  More  Power.  —  Of  the  defects  in  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation  Congress  was  fully  aware,  and  it  asked  the 
states  to  amend  the  Articles  and  give  it  more  authority. ^  To  do 
this  required  the  assent  of  all  the  states,  and  as  the  consent  of 
thirteen  states  could  not  be  obtained,  the  additional  powers  were 
not  given  to  Congress. 

This  soon  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  With  no  regulation 
of  trade,  the  purchase  of  more  and  more  goods  from  British 
merchants  made  money  so  scarce  that  the  states  were  forced  to 
print  and  issue  large  amounts  of  paper  bills.  In  Massachu- 
setts, when  the  legislature  refused  to  issue  such  currency,  the 
debtors  rose  and,  led  by  a  Revolutionary  officer  named  Daniel 
Shays,  prevented  the  courts  from  trying  suits  for  the  recov- 
ery of  debts.  The  governor  called  out  troops,  and  several 
encounters  took  place  before  a  bitter  winter  dispersed  the  in- 
surgents. ^ 

The  Annapolis  Trade  Convention.  —  In  this  condition  of 
affairs,  Virginia  invited  her  sister  states  to  send  delegates  to 
a  convention  at  Annapolis  in  1786.  They  were  to  "  take  into 
consideration  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  United  States." 
Five  states  sent  delegates,  but  the  convention  could  do  nothing, 
because  less  than  half  the  states  were  present,  and  because  the 
powers  of  the  delegates  were  too  limited.  A  request  was  there- 
fore made  by  it  that  Congress  call  a  convention  of  the  states 
to  meet  at  Philadelphia  and  "  take  into  consideration  the  situa- 
tion of  the  United  States." 

The  Constitutional  Convention.  —  Congress  issued    the    call 
early  in  1787,  and  delegates  from  twelve  states  ^  met  at  Pliiia-  (^ 
delphia  and  framed  the  Constitution  of   the    United    ^ates. 


1  Congress  asked  for  authority  to  do  three  things :  (1)  to  levy  taxes  on  im- 
ported goods,  and  use  the  money  so  obtained  to  discharge  the  debts  due  to 
France,  Holland,  and  Spain  ;  (2)  to  lay  and  collect  a  special  tax,  and  use  the 
money  to  meet  the  annual  expenses  of  government ;  and  (3)  to  regulate  trade 
with  foreign  countries. 

2  The  story  of  Shays's  Rebellion  is  told  in  fiction  in  Bellamy's  Duke  of  Stock- 
bridge.    Read  Mc Master's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  313-326, 

8  All  the  states  except  Rhode  Island. 


206  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

Washington  was  made  president  of  the  convention,  and  among 
the  members  were  many  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  time.^ 

The    Compromises.  — 


.^■^               '*^'^"^-'^-.  In  the  course  of  the  de- 
y^             'I'he  Prefident  V,        bates  in   the   convention 
^                Frejenu  hu  CmpUmenu  to  "^     great  difference  of  opin- 
io           ^y^^z^^^r^^^^^  \    ion  arose  on  several  mat- 

i    and  reguejls  the  Favour  of-  ^cl^      Company  at  Dinner,     i       tcrS. 

^            on/4^»x--pc^ «  ^-o'clock.            ^  The     small     states 

"^^^^          p"^^"^""-.^4^'^^^V-             ,^-'^  wanted    a    Congress    of 

'■'^Sk.^   ^«  ^,/u,.r /w.>.</.    ^^^r^''^  one   house,  and  equality 

-&.K^.^.^-'^'-  ^£    state    representation. 

Invitation  sent  by  Washington,  as  president       rj.^^      ^^^^   g^^^^g  wanted 
of  the  convention.  " 

In  the  possession  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  ^  CoUgreSS  of  twO  hoUSCS, 

^^'^^^^y-  with     representation    in 

proportion  to  population.  This  difference  of  opinion  was  so 
serious  that  a  compromise  was  necessary,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  in  one  branch  (House  of  Representatives)  the  people 
should  be  represented,  and  in  the  other T^Senate)  the  states. 

The  question  then  arose  whether  slaves  should  be  counted 
as  population.  The  Southern  delegates  said  yes;  the  Northern, 
no.  It  was  finally  agreed  that  direct  taxes  and  representatives 
should  be  apportioned  according  to  population,  and  that  three 
fifths  of  the  slaves  should  be  counted  as  population.  This  was 
the  second  compromise. 

The  convention  agreed  that  Congress  should  regulate  foreign 
commerce.     But  the  Southern  members  objected  that  by  means 

1  One  had  written  the  Albany  Plan  of  Union ;  some  had  been  members  of  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress ;  some  had  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  or  the 
Articles  of  Confederation ;  two  had  been  presidents  and  twenty-eight  had  been 
members  of  Congress;  seven  had  been  or  were  then  governors  of  states.  In 
after  times  two  (Washington  and  Madison)  became  Presidents,  one  (Elbridge 
Gerry)  Vice  President,  four  members  of  the  Cabinet,  two  Chief  Justices  and 
two  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  five  ministers  at  foreign  courts,  and  many 
others  senators  and  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  One,  Franklin, 
has  the  distinction  of  having  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  treaty 
of  alliance  with  France  (1778),  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  (1783), 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  four  great  documents  in  our  early 
history. 


AFTER  THE   WAR  207 

of  this  power  Congress  might  pass  navigation  acts  limiting 
trade  to  American  ships,  which  might  raise  freights  on  exports 
from  the  South.  Many  Northern  members,  on  the  other  hand, 
wanted  the  shive  trade  stopped.  These  two  matters  were  there- 
fore made  the  basis  of  another  compromise,  by  which  Congress  ^ 
could  pass  navigation  acts,  but  could  not  prohibit  the  slave 
trade  before  1808. 

The  Constitution  Ratified.  —  When  the  convention  had  fin- 
ished its  work  (September  17,  1787),  the  Constitution  ^  was  sent 
to  the  old  (Continental)  Congress,  which  referred  it  to  the 
states,  and  the  states,  one  by  one,  called  on  the  people  to  elect 
delegates  to  conventions  to  ratify  or  reject  the  new  plan  of 
government.  In  a  few  states  it  was  accepted  without  any 
demand  for  changes.  In  others  it  was  vigorously  opposed  as 
likely  to  set  up  too  strong  a  government.  In  Massachusetts,  u 
New  York,  and  Virginia  adoption  was  long  in  doubt.^     - 

By  July,  1788,  eleven  states  had  ratified,  and  the  Constitu- 
tion was  in  force  as  to  these  States.  ^ 

1  Every  student  should  read  the  Constitution,  as  printed  near  the  end  of  this 
book  or  elsewhere,  and  should  know  about  the  three  branches  of  government, 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial;  the  powers  of  Congress  (Art.  I,  Sec.  8),  of 
the  President  (Art.  I,  Sec.  7;  Art.  11,  Sees.  2  and  3),  and  of  the  United  States 
courts  (Art.  Ill)  ;  the  principal  powers  forbidden  to  Congress  (Art.  I,  Sec.  9) 
and  to  the  states  (Art.  I,  Sec.  10);  the  methods  of  amending  the  Constitution 
(Art.  V)  ;  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  (Art.  VI). 

2  To  remove  the  many  objections  made  to  the  new  plan,  and  enable  the 
people  the  better  to  understand  it,  Hamilton,  Madison,  and  Jay  wrote  a  series  of 
little  essays  for  the  press,  in  which  they  defended  the  Constitution,  explained 
and  discussed  its  provisions,  and  showed  how  closely  it  resembled  the  state  con- 
stitutions. These  essays  were  called  The  Federalist^  and,  gathered  into  book 
form  (in  1788),  have  become  famous  as  a  treatise  on  the  Constitution  and  on 
government.  Those  who  opposed  the  Constitution  were  called  Anti-Federalists, 
and  they  wrote  pamphlets  and  elaborate  series  of  letters  in  the  newspapers, 
signed  by  such  names  as  Cato,  Agrippa,  A  Countryman.  They  declared  that 
Congress  would  overpower  the  states,  that  the  President  would  become  a  despot, 
that  the  Courts  would  destroy  liberty  ;  and  they  insisted  that  amendments  should 
be  made,  guaranteeing  liberty  of  speech,  freedom  of  the  press,  trial  by  jury,  no 
quartering  of  troops  in  time  of  peace,  liberty  of  conscience.  Kead  McMaster's 
History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  490-491  ;  478-479. 

3  Because  the  Constitution  provided  that  it  should  go  into  force  as  soon  as 
nine  states  ratified  it.  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  did  not  ratify  till  some 
months  later,  and,  till  they  did,  were  not  members  of  the  new  Union* 

McM.  BRIEF — 13 


208  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

Establishment  of  the  New  Government.^  —  The  Continental 
Congress  then  appointed  the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  1789, 
as  the  day  on  which  electors  of  President  should  be  chosen  in 
the  eleven  states  ;  the  first  Wednesday  in  February  as  the  day 
on  which  the  electors  should  meet  and  vote  for  President ;  and 
the  first  Wednesday  in  March  (which  happened  to  be  the  4th 
of  March)  as  the  day  when  the  new  Congress  should  assemble 
at  New  York  and  canvass  the  vote  for  President. 


V 


Federal  Hall,  on  Wall  Street,  New  York.    From  an  old  print. 

Washington  the  First  President.  —  When  March  4  came, 
neither  the  Senate  nor  the  House  of  Representatives  had  a 
quorum,  and  a  month  went  by  before  the  electoral  votes  were 
counted,  and  Washington  and  John  Adams  declared  President 
and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States.  ^ 

1  In  three  of  the  eleven  states  then  in  the  Union  (Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia)  the  presidential  electors  were  chosen  by  vote  of  the  people. 
In  Massachusetts  the  voters  in  each  congressional  district  voted  for  two  can- 
didates, and  the  legislature  chose  one  of  the  two,  and  also  two  electors  at  large. 
In  New  Hampshire  also  the  people  voted  for  electors,  but  none  receiving  a 
majority  vote,  the  legislature  made  the  choice.  Elsewhere  the  legislatures  ap- 
pointed electors  ;  but  in  New  York  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature  fell  into 
a  dispute  and  failed  to  choose  any.  Washington  received  the  first  vote  of  all 
the  69  electors,  and  Adams  received  34  votes,  the  next  highest  number. 


AFTER  THE   WAR  209 

Some  time  now  elapsed  before  Washington  could  be  noti- 
fied   of   his  election.      More  time  was  consumed  by  the  long 
journey  from  Mount  Vernon  to  New  York,  wliere,  on  April  30,   j 
1789,  standing  on  the  balcony  of  Federal  Hall,  he  took  the  oath 
of  office  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  treaty  of  peace  defined  the  boundaries  of  our  country;  but 
Great  Britain  continued  to  hold  the  forts  along  the  north,  and  Spain  to  oc- 
cupy the  country  in  the  southwest. 

2.  Seven  of  the  thirteen  states  claimed  the  country  west  of  the  moun- 
tains. 

3.  The  other  six,  especially  Maryland,  denied  these  claims,  and  this 
dispute  delayed  the  adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  till  1781. 

4.  By  the  year  1786  the  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio  had  been  ceded 
to  Congress. 

5.  In  1787,  therefore,  Congress  formed  the  Northwest  Territory. 

6.  Certain  states,  meantime,  were  settling  disputes  as  to  their  bound- 
aries in  the  east. 

7.  We  had  trouble  with  Spain  over  the  right  to  use  the  low^er  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  with  Great  Britain  over  matters  of  trade. 

8.  Six  years'  trial  proved  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 
was  too  weak  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 

9.  In  1787,  therefore,  the  Constitution  was  framed,  and  within  a  year 
was  ratified  by  eleven  states. 

10.   In  1789  Washington  and  Adams  became  President  and  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  government  under  the  Constitution  began. 


Liberty  beU. 


CHAPTER  XYII 


OUR  COUNTRY  IN   1789 


V 


The  States. —  When  Washington  became  President,  the  thir- 
teen original  states  of  the  Union  ^  were  in  many  respects  very 
unlike  the  same  states  in  our  day.  In  some  the  executive  was 
called  president ;  in  others  governor.  In  some  he  had  a  veto ; 
in  others  he  had  not.  In  some  there  was  no  senate.  To  be  a 
voter  in  those  days  a  man  had  to  have  an  estate  worth  a  certain 
sum  of  money ,2  or  a  specified  annual  income,  or  own  a  certain 
number  of  acres.^ 

Moreover,  to  be  eligible  as  governor  or  a  member  of  a  state 

legislature  a  man  had  to  own  more  property  than  was  needed  to 

qualify  him  to  vote.     In  many  states  it  was  further  required 

V/  that  officeholders  should  be  Protestants,  or  at  least  Christians, 

or  should  believe  in  the  existence  of  God. 

The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  made  necessary  certain 
acts  of  legislation  by  the  states.  They  could  issue  no  more 
bills  of  credit ;   provision  therefore  had  to  be  made  for  the  re- 

•     1  The  states  ratified  the  Constitution  on  the  dates  given  below :  — 


1. 

Delaware    .     .    . 

.      Dec.  7,  1787 

8. 

South  Carolina    . 

.      May  23, 

1788 

2. 

Pennsylvania 

.    Dec.  12,  1787 

9. 

New  Hampshire  . 

.      June  21, 

1788 

3. 

New  Jersey     .     . 

.     Dec.  18,  1787 

10. 

Virginia  .... 

.      June  26, 

1788 

4. 

Georgia  .... 

.      Jan.  2,  1788 

11. 

New  York   .     .     . 

.      July  2G, 

1788 

5. 

Connecticut     .     . 

.      Jan.  9,  1788 

12. 

North  Carolina    . 

.     Nov.  21, 

1789 

(). 

Massachusetts     . 

.      Feb.  7,  1788 

13. 

Rhode  Island   .     . 

.      May  29, 

1790 

7. 

Maryland    .     .     . 

.  April  28,  1788 

2  In  New  Jersey  any  "person"  having  a  freehold  (real  estate  owned  out- 
right or  for  life)  worth  £50  might  vote.  In  New  York  each  voter  had  to  have  a 
freehold  of  £20,  or  pay  40  shillings  house  rent  and  his  taxes.  In  Massachusetts 
he  had  to  have  an  estate  of  £60,  or  an  income  of  £8  from  his  estate. 

3  In  Maryland  50  acres  ;  in  South  Carolina  50  acres  or  a  town  lot ;  in  Geor- 
gia £10  of  taxable  property. 

210 


OUR  COUNTRY  IN    1789  .  211 

demption  of  those  outstanding.  They  could  lay  no  duties  on 
imports;  such  as  had  laid  import  duties  had  to  repeal  their  laws 
and  abolish  their  customhouses.  All  lighthouses,  beacons, 
buoys,  maintained  by  individual  states  were  surrendered  to 
the  United  States,  and  in  other  ways  the  states  had  to  adjust 
themselves  to  the  new  government. 

The  National  Debt.  —  Each  of  the  states  was  in  debt  for 
money  and  supplies  used  in  the  war ;  and  over  the  whole  country 
hung  a  great  debt  contracted  by  the  old  Congress.  Part  of  this 
national  debt  was  repre- 
sented by  bills  of  credit,  9^.  CQ^il§^£^M-.' CuSK^^y.  f 
loan-office  certificates,  lot-     f  §  ^S^^i^^^1?fffT^T^7?'^"^- ! 

'  t^S      /^^^^^fe>C^    'T^H  IS  BILL  entitles  the  Bearer  to 0 

tery  certificates,  and  'i^  ^^^\^\rtJSI':fTJ^Cl:S 
many  other  sorts  of  prom-     I  ^  ^^S  fefi^fl^^o^^ftl^f  he,!'?" ' 


^  .  ^^^-«^^.«^.» . , .      ......       -y 

ises  to  pay,  which  had  be- 
come   almost    worthless.      <>        ^•'-^-^-^  ^^^  ,3^<^fzii^  y 
ihis  was  strictly  true  oi                    o    ..     .  , 

•^  Continental  paper  money. 

the  bills  of  credit  or  paper 

money  issued  in  great  quantities  by  the  Continental  Congress.^ 
Besides  this  domestic  debt  owed  to  the  people  at  home,  there 
was  a  foreign  debt,  for  Congress  had  borrowed  a  little  money 
from  Spain  and  a  great  deal  from  France  and  Holland.  On 
this  debt  interest  was  due,  for  Congress  had  not  been  able  to 
pay  even  that. 

1  When  Congress  was  forced  to  assume  the  conduct  of  the  war,  money 
was  needed  to  pay  the  troops.  But  the  Congress  then  had  no  authority  to  tax 
either  the  colonies  or  the  people,  so  (in  1775-81)  it  issued  bills  of  credit,  or  Con- 
tinental money,  of  various  denominations.  A  loan  office  was  also  established 
in  each  state,  and  the  people  were  asked  to  loan  Congress  money  and  receive 
in  return  loan-office  certificates  bearing  interest  and  payable  in  three  years. 
But  little  money  came  from  this  source  ;  and  the  people  refused  to  take  the 
bills  of  credit  at  their  face  value.  The  states  then  made  them  legal  tender,  that 
is,  made  them  lawful  money  for  the  payment  of  debts.  But  as  they  became 
more  and  more  plentiful,  prices  of  everything  paid  for  in  Continental  money 
rose  higher  and  higher.  From  an  old  bill  of  January,  1781,  it  appears  that 
in  Philadelphia  a  pair  of  boots  cost  $600  in  paper  dollars;  six  yards  of  chintz, 
$900 ;  eight  yards  of  binding,  $400  ;  a  skein  of  silk,  $10  ;  and  butter,  $20  a 
pound.  In  Boston  at  the  same  time  sugar  was  $10  a  pound  ;  beef,  $8 ;  and 
flour,  $1575  a  barrel.  To  say  of  anything  that  it  was  "  not  worth  a  continental " 
was  to  say  that  it  was  utterly  worthless. 


212 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


The  Money  of  the  Country.  —  The  Continental  bills  having 
long  ceased  to  circulate,  the  currency  of  the  country  consisted 
of  paper  money  issued  by  individual  states,  and  the  gold,  silver, 
and  copper  coins  of  foreign  countries.  These  passed  by  such 
names  as  the  Joe  or  Johannes,  the  doubloon,  pistole,  moidore, 
guinea,  crown,  dollar,  shilling,  sixpence,  pistareen,  penny.  A 
common  coin  was  the  Spanish  milled  dollar,  which  passed  at 
different  ratings  in  different  parts  of  the  country. ^  Congress 
in  1786  adopted  the  dollar  as  a  unit,  divided  it  into  the  half,  quar- 
V  ter,  dime,  half  dime,  cent,  and  half  cent,  and  ordered  some  cop- 
pers to  be  minted ;  but  very  few  were  made  by  the  contractor. 
Population.  —  Just  how  many  people  dwelt  in  our  country 

before  1790  can  only 
be  guessed  at.  In 
that  year  they  were 
counted  for  the  first 
time,  and  it  was  then, 
ascertained  that  they 
numbered  3,929,000 
(in  the  thirteen 
states)  of  whom  700,- 
000  were  slaves.  All 
save  about  200,000 
dwelt  along  the  sea- 
board, east  of  the  mountains ;  and  nearly  half  were  between 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  Florida. 

The  most  populous  state  was  Virginia ;  after  her,  next 
in  order  were  Massachusetts  (including  Maine),  Pennsylvania, 
North  Carolina,  and  New  York. 

The  most  populous  city  was  Philadelphia,  after  which  came 
New  York,  Boston,  Charleston,  and  Baltimore. 

Life  in  the  Cities.  —  What  passed  for  thriving  cities  in  those 
days  were  collections  of  a  thousand  or  two  houses,  very  few  of 

1  In  New  England  it  was  valued  at  six  shillings  ;  in  New  York  at  eight ;  in 
Pennsylvania  at  seven  and  six  pence  ;  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  at  four 
shillings  and  eight  pence. 


Settled  area  in  1790. 


OUR  COUNTRY  IN    1789  213 

which   made   any  pretension   to   architectural  beauty,  ranged 

along  narrow  streets,  none  of  which  were  sewered,  and  few  of 

which  were  paved  or  lighted  even  on  nights  when  the  moon  did 

not  shine.     During  daylight  a  few  constables  kept  order.     At 

night  small  parties  of  men  called  the  night  watch  walked  the 

streets.     Each    citizen   was   required 

to  serve  his  turn  on  the  watch  or  find 

a  substitute  or  pay  a  fine.     He  had  to 

be  a  fireman  and  keep  in  his  house 

near  the  front  door  a  certain  number 

of  leather  fire  buckets  with  which  at    "^^?^G^^^e^ 

the  clanging  of  the  courthouse  or  mar-  g^j    ^^^  engine. 

ket  bell  he  would  run  to  the  burning 

building  and  take  his  place  in  the  line  which  passed  the  full 

buckets  from  the  nearest  pump  to  the  engine,  or  in  the  line 

which  passed  the  empty  buckets  from  the  engine  back  to  the 

pump.     Water  for  household  use  or  for  putting  out  fires  came 

from  private  wells  or  from  the  town  pumps.     There  were  no 

city  water  works. 

Lack  of  good  and  abundant  water,  lack  of  proper  drainage, 
ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health,  filthy,  unpaved  streets,  spread 
diseases  of  the  worst  sort.  Smallpox  was  common.  Yellow 
fever  in  the  great  cities  was  of  almost  annual  occurrence,  and 
often  raged  with  the  violence  of  a  plague. 

Lack  of  Conveniences.  —  Few  appliances  which  increase  com- 
fort, or  promote  health,  or  save  time  or  labor,  were  in  use. 
Not  even  in  the  homes  of  the  rich  were  there  cook  stoves  or 
furnaces  or  open  grates  for  burning  anthracite  coal,  or  a  bath 
room,  or  a  gas  jet.  Lamps  and  candles  afforded  light  by  night. 
The  warming  pan,  the  foot  stove  (p.  97),  and  the  four-posted 
bedstead  (p.  76),  with  curtains  to  be  drawn  when  the  nights 
were  cold,  were  still  essentials.  The  boy  was  fortunate  who 
did  not  have  to  break  the  ice  in  his  water  pail  morning  after 
morning  in  winter.  Clocks  and  watches  were  luxuries  for  the 
rich.  The  sundial  was  yet  in  use,  and  when  the  flight  of  time 
was  to  be  noted  in  hours  or  parts,  people  resorted  to  the  hour 


214 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


glass.      Many   a   minister   used   one  on   Sundays  to  time  his 
preaching  by,  and  many  a  housewife  to  time  her  cooking. ^ 

No  city  had  yet  reached  such  size  as 
to  make  street  cars  or  cabs  or  omnibuses 
necessary.  Time  was  less  valuable  than 
in  our  day.  The  merchant  kept  his  own 
books,  wrote  all  business  letters  with  a 
quill  pen,  and  waited  for  the  ink  to  dry 
or  sprinkled  it  with  sand.  There  were  no 
envelopes,  no  postage  stamps,  no  letter 
boxes  in  the  streets,  no  collection  of  the 
mails.  The  letter  written,  the  paper  was 
carefully  folded,  sealed  with  wax  or  a 
wafer,  addressed,  and  carried  to  the  post 
office,  where  postage  was  paid  in  money 
at  rates  which  would  now  seem  extor- 
tionate. A  single  sheet  of  paper  was  a 
single  letter,  and  two  sheets  a  double  letter  on  which  double 
postage  was  paid.  Three  mails  a  week  between  Philadelphia 
and  New  York,  and  two  a  week  between  New  York  and  Boston, 


Hour  glass. 
In  Essex  Hall,  Salem. 


Quills  as  sold  for  making  pens.     In  Essex  Hall,  Salem. 

were  thought  ample.      The  post  offices  in  the  country  towns 

consisted  generally  of  a  drawer  or  a  few  boxes  in  a  store. 

1  The  hour  glass  consisted  of  two  small  glass  bulbs  joined  by  a  small  glass 
tube.  In  one  bulb  was  as  much  fine  sand  as  in  the  course  of  an  hour  could  run 
through  the  tube  into  the  other  bulb.  At  auctions  when  ships  or  real  estate  were 
for  sale  it  was  common  to  measure  time  by  burning  an  inch  or  more  of  candle; 
that  is,  the  bidding  would  go  on  till  a  certain  length  of  candle  was  consumed. 


OUR  COUNTRY   IN    1789  215 

Newspapers  could  not  be  sent  by  mail,  and  there  were  few  to 
send.  Though  the  first  newspaper  in  the  colonies  was  printed 
in  Boston  as  early  as  1104,  the  first  daily  newspaper  in  our  [/ 
country  was  issued  in  Philadelphia  in  1784.  Illustrated  news- 
papers, trade  journals,  scientific  weeklies/iHustrated  magazines,^ 
were  unknown.  Such  newspapers  as  existed  in  1789  were  pub- 
lished  most  of  them  once  a  week,  and  a  few  twice,  and  were 
printed  by  presses  worked  by  hand  ;  and  no  paper  anywhere 
in  our  country  was  issued  on  Sunday  or  sold  for  as  little  as  a 
penny. 

Books.  —  In  no  city  in  1790  could  there  have  been  found  r- 
an  art  gallery,  a  free  museum  of  natural  history,  a  school  or 
institute  of  any  sort  where  instruction  in  the  arts  and  sciences 
was  given.  There  were  many  good  private  libraries,  but 
hardly  any  that  were  open  to  public  use.  Books  were  mostly 
imported  from  Great  Britain,  or  such  as  were  sure  of  a  ready 
sale  were  reprinted  by  some  American  publisher  when  enough 
subscribers  were  obtained  to  pay  the  cost.  Of  native  authors 
very  few  had  produced  anything  which  is  now  read  save  by 
the  curious.2 

Schools  and  Colleges.  —  In  education  great  progress  had 
been  made.  There  were  as  yet  no  normal  schools,  no  high 
schools,  no  manual  training  schools,  and,  save  in  New  England, 
no  approach  to  the  free  common  school  of  to-day.  There  were 
private,  parish,  and  charity  schools  and  academies  in  all  the 
states.  In  many  of  these  a  small  number  of  children  of  the 
poor,  under   certain   conditions,  might  receive  instruction  in 

1  The  Massachusetts  Magazine  was  illustrated  with  occasional  engravings  of 
cities  and  scenery  ;  but  it  was  not  what  we  know  as  an  illustrated  magazine. 
Read  a  description  of  the  newspapers  of  this  time  in  McMaster's  History  of  the 
People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  35-38. 

2  Franklin  is  still  the  most  popular  of  colonial  writers.  His  autobiography, 
his  Way  to  Wealth,  and  many  of  his  essays  are  still  republished  and  widely  read. 
The  poetry  of  Philip  Freneau,  of  John  Trumbull,  and  Francis  Hopkinson  is  still 
read  by  many  ;  but  it  was  in  political  writing  that  our  countrymen  excelled.  U^ 
No  people  have  ever  produced  a  finer  body  of  political  literature  than  that  called 
forth  by  the  Revolution.  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S., 
Vol.  I,  pp.  74-80. 


216 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  But  as  yet  the  states  did 
not  have  the  money  with  which  to  establish  a  great  system  of 
free  common  schools. 

Money  in  aid  of  academies  and  colleges  was  often  raised  by 
lotteries.     Indeed,  every  one  of  the  eight  oldest  colleges  of  that 


Fainting  by  E.  L.  Henry.  Copyright,  1899,  by        C.  Klackner. 

An  old-time  private  carriage. 

day  had  received  such  help.^  In  each  of  these  the  classes  were 
smaller,  the  course  of  instruction  much  simpler,  and  the  gradu- 
ates much  younger  than  to-day.  In  no  country  of  that  time 
were  the  rich  and  well-to-do  better  educated  than  in  the  United 
States,^  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  none  was  primary  education 

1  Harvard,  William  and  Mary,  Yale,  Princeton,  Pennsylvania,  Columbia, 
Brown,  and  Dartmouth.  In  a  lottery  "  drawn  "  in  1797  for  the  benefit  of  Brown 
University,  9000  tickets  were  sold  at  $6  each  — a  total  of  |54,000.  Of  this, 
$8000  was  kept  by  the  university,  and  i$46,000  distributed  in  3328  prizes  — 2000 
at  $9  each,  1000  at  $12  each,  and  the  rest  from  $20  to  $4000. 

2  In  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  twenty  of  the  fifty-five 
men  were  college  graduates.  Five  were  graduates  of  Princeton,  three  of  Har- 
vard, three  of  Yale,  three  of  William  and  Mary,  two  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of 
King's  (now  Columbia),  and  one  each  of  Oxford,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow. 


OUR  COUNTRY  IN   1789 


217 


—  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  —  more  diffused  among  the 
people.^ 

Travel.  —  To  travel  from  one  city  to  another  in  1789  re- 
quired at  least  as  many  days  as  it  now  does  hours. ^  The  stage- 
coach, horseback,  or  private  con- 
veyances were  the  common  means 
of  land  travel.  The  roads  were  bad 
and  the  large  rivers  unbridged,  and 
in  stormy  weather  or  in  winter  the 
delays  at  the  ferries  were  often  very 
long.  Breakdowns  and  upsets  were 
common,  and  in  rainy  weather  a 
traveler  by  stagecoach  was  fortu- 
nate if  he  did  not  have  to  help  the 
driver  pull  the  wheels  out  of  the 
mud.  3 

The  Inns  and  Taverns,  some- 
times called  coffeehouses  or  ordina- 
ries, at  which  travelers  lodged,  were 
designated  by  pictured  signs  or  em- 
blems hung  before  the  door,  and 
were  given  names  which  had  no 
relation  to  their  uses,  as  the  Indian 
Head,  the  Crooked  Billet,  the  Green 
Dragon,  the  Plow  and  Harrow.  In 
these  taverns  dances  or  balls  were  held,  and  sometimes  public 
meetings.      To  those  in  the  country  came  sleigh-ride  parties. 


Sign  of  the  Indian  Head  Tavern, 
near  Concord,  Mass. 

Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Concord 
Antiquarian  Society. 


1  The  writings  of  men  who  were  not  college  graduates  —  Washington, 
Franklin,  Dickinson,  and  many  others  —  speak  well  Tor  the  character  of  the 
early  schools. 

2  The  journey  from  Boston  to  New  York  by  land  consumed  six  days,  but 
may  now  be  made  in  less  than  six  hours.  New  York  was  a  two  days'  journey 
from  Philadelphia,  but  the  distance  may  now  be  traversed  in  two  hours. 

3  One  pair  of  horses  usually  dragged  the  stage  eighteen  miles,  when  a  fresh 
team  was  put  on,  and  if  no  accident  happened,  the  traveler  would  reach  an  inn 
about  ten  at  night.  After  a  frugal  meal  he  would  betake  himself  to  bed,  for  at 
three  the  next  morning,  even  if  it  rained  or  snowed,  he  had  to  make  ready,  by 
the  light  of  a  horn  lantern  or  a  farthing  candle,  for  another  ride  of  eighteen  hours. 


218  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

From  them  the  stagecoaches  departed,  and  before  their  doors 
auctions  were  often  held,  and  in  the  great  room  within  were 
posted  public  notices  of  all  sorts. 

The  Shops  were  designated  in  much  the  same  way  as  the 
inns,  not  by  street  numbers  but  by  signs  ;  as  the  Lock  and  Key, 
the  Lion  and  the  Glove,  the  Bell  in  Hand,  the  Golden  Ball,  the 
Three  Doves.  One  shop  is  described  as  near  a  certain  bake- 
house, another  as  close  by  the  townhouse,  another  as  opposite 
a  judge's  dwelling.  The  shop  was  usually  the  front  room  of  a 
little  house.  In  the  rear  or  overhead  lived  the  ^|#^desman,  his 
family,  and  his  apprentice. 

Methods  of  Business.  —  For  his  wares  the  tradesman  took 
cash  when  he  could  get  it,  gave  short  credit  with  good  security 
when  he  had  to,  and  often  was  forced  to  resort  to  barter. 
Thus  paper  makers  took  rags  for  paper,  brush  makers  exchanged 
brushes  for  hog's  bristles,  and  a  general  shopkeeper  took  grain, 
wood,  cheese,  butter,  in  exchange  for  dry  goods  and  clothing. 

Few  of  the  modern  methods  of  extending  business,  of  seek- 
ing customers,  of  making  the  public  aware  of  what  the  merchant 
had  for  sale,  existed,  even  in  a  rude  state.  There  were  no  com- 
mercial travelers,  no  means  of  widespread  advertising.  When 
an  advertisement  had  been  inserted  in  a  newspaper  whose  circu- 
lation was  not  fifteen  hundred  copies,  when  a  handbill  had  been 
posted  in  the  markets  and  the  coffeehouses,  the  means  of 
reaching  the  public  were  exhausted. 

The  Workingman.  —  What  was  true  of  the  merchant  was 
true  of  men  in  every  walk  in  life.  Their  opportunities  were 
few,  their  labor  was  hard,  their  comforts  of  life  were  far 
inferior  to  what  is  now  within  their  reach.  In  every  great  city 
to-day  are  men,  women,  and  boys  engaged  in  a  hundred  trades, 
professions,  and  occupations  unknown  in  1790.  The  great  cor- 
porations, mills,  factories,  mines,  railroads,  the  steamboats,  rapid 
transit,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the  typewriter,  the  sewing 
machine,  the  automobile,  the  postal  delivery  service,  the  police 
and  fire  departments,  the  banks  and  trust  companies,  the  depart- 
ment stores,  and  scores  of  other  inventions  and  business  institu- 


OUR  COUNTRY   IN   1789  219 

tions  of  great  cities,  now  giving  employment  to  millions  of 
human  beings,  have  been  created  since  1790. 

The  working  day  was  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  with  one  hour 
for  breakfast  and  another  for  dinner.  Wages  were  about 
a  third  what  they  are  now,  and  were  less  when  the  days  were 
short  than  when  they  were  long.  The  redemptioner  was  still 
in  demand  in  the  Middle  States.  In  the  South  almost  all  labor 
was  done  by  slaves. 

Slavery.  —  In  the  North  slavery  was  on  the  decline.  While 
still  under  the  crown,  Virginia  and  several  other  colonies  had 
attempted  to  check  slavery  by  forbidding  the  importation  of 
more  slaves,  but  their  laws  for  this  purpose  were  disallowed 
by  the  king.  After  1776  the  states  were  free  to  do  as  they 
pleased  in  the  matter,  and  many  of  them  stopped  the  importa- 
tion of  slaves.  Moreover,  before  Congress  shut  slavery  out  of 
the  Northwest  Territory,  the  New  England  states  and  Pennsyl- 
vania had  either  abolished  slavery  outright  or  provided  for  its 
extinction  by  gradual  abolition  laws.^ 

Industries. — In  New  England  the  people  lived  on  their  own 
farms,  which  they  cultivated  with  their  own  hands  and  with 
the  help  of  their  children,  or  engaged  in  codfishing,  whaling, 
lumbering,  shipbuilding,  and  commerce.  They  built  ships  and 
sold  them  abroad,  or  used  them  to  carry  away  the  products 
of  New  England  to  the  South,  to  the  ports  of  France,  Spain, 
Russia,  Sweden,  the  West  Indies,  and  even  to  China.  To  the 
West  Indies  went  horses,  cattle,  lumber,  salt  fish,  and  mules  ; 
and  from  them  came  sugar,  molasses,  coffee,  indigo,  wines. 
From  Sweden  and  Russia  came  iron,  hemp,  and  duck. 

The  Middle  States  produced  much  grain  and  flour.     New 

1  In  1777  Vermont  forbade  the  slavery  of  men  and  women.  In  1780  Penn- 
sylvania passed  a  gradual  abolition  act.  Massacljusetts  by  her  constitution 
declared  "All  men  are  born  free  and  equal,"  which  her  courts  held  prohibited 
slavery.  New  Hampshire  in  her  constitution  made  a  similar  declaration  with  a 
like  result.  In  1784  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  adopted  gradual  abolition 
laws,  providing  that  children  born  of  a  slave  parent  after  a  certain  date  should 
be  free  when  they  reached  a  certain  age,  and  that  their  children  were  never  to 
be  slaves.  These  were  states  where  slaves  had  never  been  much  in  demand, 
and  where  the  industries  of  the  people  did  not  depend  on  slave  labor. 


220 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


York  had  lost  much  of  her  fur  trade  because  of  the  British 
control  of  the  frontier  posts  ;  but  her  exports  of  flour,  grain, 
lumber,  leather,  and  what  not,  in  1791,  were  valued  at  nearly 
•$3,000,000.  The  people  of  Pennsylvania  made  lumber,  linen, 
flour,  paper,  iron ;  built  ships ;  carried  on  a  prosperous  com- 
merce with  foreign  lands  and  a  good  fur  trade  with  the  Indians. 
In  Maryland  and  Virginia  the  staple  crop  was  still  tobacco, 
but  they  also  produced  much  grain  and  flour.     North  Carolina 


Trading  canoe. 


produced  tar,  pitch,  resin,  turpentine,  and  lumber.  Some  rice 
and  tobacco  were  raised.  Great  herds  of  cattle  and  hogs  ran 
wild.  In  South  Carolina  rice  was  the  most  important  crop. 
Indigo,  once  an  important  product,  had  declined  since  the 
Revolution,  and  cotton  was  only  just  beginning  to  be  grown 
for  export.  From  the  back  country  came  tar,  pitch,  turpen- 
tine, and  beaver,  deer,  and  bear  skins  for  export. 

The  Fur  Trade. — The  region  of  the  Great  Lakes,  where  the 
British  still  held  the  forts  on  the  American  side  of  the  bound- 
ary, was  the  chief  seat  of  the  fur  trade.      Goods   for    Indian 


OUR  COUNTRY  IN   1789  221 

use  were  brought  from  England  to  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and 
carried  in  canoes  to  Oswego,  Niagara,  Detroit,  Mackinaw, 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  (map,  p.  194),  and  thence  scattered  over  the 
Northwest. 1 

1  The  departure  of  a  fleet  of  canoes  from  Quebec  or  Montreal  was  a  fine  sight. 
The  trading  canoe  of  bark  was  forty-five  feet  long,  and  carried  four  tons  of 
goods.  The  crew  of  eight  men,  with  their  hats  gaudy  with  plumes  and  tinsel, 
their  brilliant  handkerchiefs  tied  around  their  throats,  their  bright-colored  shirts, 
flaming  belts,  and  gayly  worked  moccasins,  formed  a  picture  that  can  not  be 
described.  When  the  axes,  powder,  shot,  dry  goods,  and  provisions  were 
packed  in  the  canoes,  when  each  voyager  had  hung  his  votive  offering  in  the 
chapel  of  his  patron  saint,  a  boatman  of  experience  stepped  into  the  bow  and 
another  into  the  stern  of  each  canoe,  the  crew  took  places  between  them,  and 
at  the  word  the  fleet  glided  up  the  St.  Lawrence  on  its  way  to  the  Ottawa, 
and  thence  on  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  to  Grand  Portage  (near  the  northeast  corner 
of  what  is  now  Minnesota),  or  to  Mackinaw. 

SUMMARY 

1.  In  1789  the  states  had  governments  less  democratic  than  at  present ; 
in  general  only  property  owners  could  vote  and  hold  office. 

2.  The  states  were  all  in  debt,  and  Congress  had  incurred  besides  a 
large  national  debt. 

3.  The  population  was  less  than  4,000,000,  mostly  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard. 

4.  Cities  were  few  and  small,  without  street  cars,  pavements,  water 
works,  gas  or  electric  lights,  public  libraries  or  museums,  letter  carriers,  or 
paid  firemen.  Everywhere  many  of  the  common  conveniences  of  mod- 
ern life  were  unknown. 

5.  Travel  was  slow  and  tiresome,  because  there  were  no  railroads, 
steamboats,  or  automobiles. 

6.  Occupations  were  far  fewer  than  now,  wages  lower,  and  hours  of 
labor  longer.  Slavery  had  been  abolished,  or  was  being  gradually  stopped, 
in  New  England  and  Pennsylvania,  but  existed  in  all  the  other  states; 
and  in  the  South  nearly  all  the  labor  was  done  by  slaves. 

7.  New  Englanders  were  engaged  in  farming,  fishing,  lumbering,  and 
commerce;  the  Middle  States  produced  much  wheat  and  flour,  and  also 
lumber;   the  South  chiefly  tobacco,  rice,  and  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 


THE  NEW  GOVERNMENT 


First  Acts  of  Congress. — During  Washington's  first  term 
of  office  as  President  (1789-933,  the  time  of  Congress  was 
largely  taken  up  with  the  passage  of  laws  necessary  to  put  the 

new  government  in  opera- 
tion, and  to  carry  out  the 
plan  of  the  Constitution. 

Departments  of  State, 
Treasury,  and  War  were  es- 
tablished ;  a  Supreme  Court 
was  organized  with  a  Chief 
Justice  1  and  five  associates ; 
three  Circuits  (one  for  each 
of  the  three  groups  of  states, 
Eastern,  Middle,  and  South- 
ern) and  thirteen  District 
Courts  (one  for  each  state) 
were  created,  and  provision 
was  made  for  all  the  machin- 
ery of  justice  ;  and  twelve 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  were  sent  out  to  the  states, 
of  which  ten  were  ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  states 
and  became  a  part  of  the  Constitution. ^ 

1  Washington  appointed  John  Jay  the  first  Chief  Justice,  and  gave  the  newly 
created  secretaryships  of  State,  Treasury,  and  War  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  and  Henry  Knox  respectively.  These  men  were  intended  to  be 
heads  of  departments  ;  but  Washington  soon  began  to  consult  them  and  the 
Attorney  General  on  matters  of  state  and  thus  made  them  also  a  body  of  ad- 
visers known  as  "  the  Cabinet."  All  the  Secretaries  and  the  Postmaster  General 
and  the  Attorney  General  are  now  members  of  the  Cabinet. 

2  These  ten  amendments  form  a  sort  of  "  bill  of  rights,"  and  were  intended 
to  remove  objections  to  the  Constitution  by  those  who  feared  that  the  national 
government  might  encroach  on  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

222 


Desk  used  by  Washington  while  President, 

In  the  possession  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society. 


THE  NEW   GOVERNMENT  223 

At  the  second  session  of  Congress  provision  was  made,  in 
the  Funding  Measure,  for  the  assumption  of  the  Continental  and  i^ 
state  debts  incurred  during  the  war  for  independence.^  Tlie 
District  of  Columbia  as  the  permanent  seat  of  government  was 
located  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,^  and  the  temporary  seat 
of  government  was  moved  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia, 
there  to  remain  for  ten  years. 

New  States.  —  The  states  of  North  Carolina  and  Rhode 
Island,  having  at  last  ratified  the  Constitution,  sent  representa- 
tives and  senators  to  share  in  the  work  of  Congress  during 
this  session. 

The  quarrel  between  New  York  and  Vermont  having  been 
settled,  Vermont  was  admitted  in  1791;  and  Virginia  having 
given  her  consent,  the  people  of  Kentucky  were  authorized  to 
form  a  state  constitution,  and  Kentucky  entered  the   Union  [y 
in  1792.3 

The  National  Bank  and  the  Currency.  —  The  funding  of  the 
debt  (proposed  by  Hamilton)  was  the  first  great  financial  meas- 
ure adopted  by  Congress.*    The  second  (1791)  was  the  charter  of  - ;_ 

1  For  the  different  kinds  of  debt,  see  p.  211.  The  Continental  money  was 
funded  at  SI  in  government  stock  for  $100  in  the  paper  money  ;  but  the  other 
forms  of  debt  were  assumed  by  the  government  at  their  face  value.  All  told, 
—  state  debts,  foreign  debt,  loan-ofltlce  certificates,  etc.,  —  these  obligations 
amounted  to  about  $75,000,000.  To  pay  so  large  a  sum  in  cash  was  impossible, 
so  Congress  ordered  interest-bearing  stock  to  be  given  in  exchange  for  evidence 
of  debt. 

2  As  first  laid  out,  the  District  of  Columbia  was  a  square  ten  miles  on  a 
side,  and  was  partly  in  Virginia  and  partly  in  Maryland.  But  the  piece  in  Vir- 
ginia many  years  later  (1846)  was  given  back  to  that  state. 

3  After  these  two  states  were  admitted  each  was  given  a  star  and  a  stripe  on 
the  national  flag.  Until  1818  our  flag  thus  had  fifteen  stars  and  fifteen  stripes, 
no  further  change  being  made  as  new  states  were  admitted.  In  1818  two  stripes 
were  taken  off,  the  number  of  stars  was  made  the  same  as  the  number  of  states, 
and  since  then  each  new  state  has  been  represented  by  a  new  star. 

4  Alexander  Hamilton  was  born  in  1757  on  the  island  of  Nevis,  one  of  the 
British  West  Indies.  He  was  sent  to  New  York  to  be  educated,  and  entered 
King's  College  (now  Columbia  University).  There  he  became  an  ardent  patriot, 
wrote  pamphlets  in  defense  of  the  first  Congress,  and  addressed  a  public  meeting 
when  but  seventeen.  He  was  captain  of  an  artillery  company  in  177G,  one  of 
Washington's  aids  in  1777-81,  distinguished  himself  at  Yorktown,  and  (in  1782) 
went  to  Congress.     He  was  a  man  of  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  high  ideals,  was 

MOM.  BRIEF 14 


224 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


the  Bank  of  the  United  States  with  power  to  establish  branches  in 
the  states  and  to  issue  bank  notes  to  be  used  as  money.     The 

1  third  (1792)  was  the  law  pro- 
viding for  a  national  coinage 
and  authorizing  the  establish- 
ment of  a  United  States  mint 
for  making  the  coin.i  It  was 
ordered  that  whoever  would 
bring  gold  or  silver  to  the 
mint  should  receive  for  it  the 
same  weight  of  coins.  This 
was  free  coinage  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  made  our  stand- 
ard of  money  bimetallic,  or  of 
two  metals ;  for  a  debtor 
could  choose  which  kind  of 
money  he  would  pay. 
Hamilton's  Tomb,  New  York  city.  ^j^^      Revenue       LawS.  — 

Other  financial  measures  of  Washington's  first  term  were  the 
tariff  law,  which  levied  duties  on  imported  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise,  the  excise  or  whisky  tax,  and  the  law  fixing  rates 
of  postage  on  letters. ^ 

possessed  of  a  singular  genius  for  finance,  and  believed  in  a  vigorous  national 
government.  As  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Hamilton  proposed  not  only  the 
funding  and  assumption  plans,  but  the  national  bank  and  the  mint. 

1  The  coins  were  to  be  the  eagle  or  ten-dollar  piece,  half  eagle,  and  quarter 
eagle  of  gold  ;  the  dollar,  half,  quarter,  dime,  and  half  dime  of  silver  ;  and  the 
cent  and  half  cent  of  copper.  The  mint  was  established  at  once  at  Philadelphia, 
and  the  first  copper  coin  was  struck  in  1793.  But  coinage  was  a  slow  process, 
and  many  years  passed  before  foreign  coins  ceased  to  circulate.  The  accounts 
of  Congress  were  always  kept  in  dollars  and  cents.  But  the  states  and  the 
people  used  pounds,  shillings,  pence,  and  Spanish  dollars,  and  it  was  several 
years  before  the  states,  by  law,  required  their  officers  to  levy  taxes  and  keep 
accounts  in  dollars  and  cents  (Virginia  in  1792,  Rhode  Island  and  Massa- 
chusetts in  1795,  New  York  and  Vermont  in  1797,  New  Jersey  in  1799). 

2  A  single  letter  in  those  days  was  one  written  on  a  single  sheet  of  paper, 
large  or  small,  and  the  postage  on  it  was  6  cents  for  any  distance  under  .30 
miles,  8  cents  from  30  to  60,  10  cents  from  60  to  100,  and  so  on  to  450  miles, 
above  which  the  rate  was  25  cents.  In  all  our  country  there  were  but  75  post 
offices,  and  the  revenue  derived  from  them  was  about  $100,000  a  year. 


THE   NEW  GOVERNMENT 


225 


The  Rise  of  Parties.  —  As  to  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  the 
acts  of  Congress  the  people  were  divided  in  their  opinions. 
Those  who  approved  and  supported  the  administration  were  / 
called  Federalists,  and  had  for  leaders  Washington,  John 
Adams,  Hamilton,  Robert  Morris,  John  Jay,  and  Rufus  King ;  ^ 
those  who  opposed  the  administration  were  the  Anti-Faderal- 
ists,  or  Re£ublicans,  whose  great  leaders  were  Jefferson,  Madi- 
son, Monroe,  Gerry,  Gallatin,  and  Randolph. 

The  Republicans  had  opposed  the  funding  and  assumption 
measures,  the  national  bank,  and  the  excise.  They  complained 
that  the  national  debt  was  too  large,  tliat  the  salaries  of  the 
President,  Congressmen,  and  officials  were  too  high,  and  that 
the  taxes  were  too  heavy  ;  and  they  accused  the  Federalists  of 
a  fondness  for  monarchy  and  aristocracy. 

Washington  opened  each  session  of  Congress  with  a  speech 
just  as  the  king  opened  Parliament,  and  each  branch  of  Congress 
presented  an  answer  just  as  the  Lords  and  Commons  did  to  the 
king.  Nobody  could  go  to  the  President's  reception  without  a 
card  of  invitation.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  wore 
gowns  as  did  English  judges.     The  Senate  held  its  daily  ses- 


■ 

"'f^-           ,il 

^'Jlf  "K^  J[|^Hb.illllH 

I^^^BIg^^ak   w..lfe'^' 

''SsHHHhIh^^H 

^■r%  v^^^' 

'WM 

^Pl 

^^^IHEli^ 

M 

t^f 

' '   \^\ 

i 

, 

m 

Lady  Washington's  reception.    From  an  old  print. 


226  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

sions  in  secret,  and  shut  out  reporters  and  the  people.  All 
this  the  Anti-Federalists  held  to  be  unrepublican. 

The  Election  of  1792.  —  When  the  time  came,  in  1792,  to  elect 

^-    a  successor  to  Washington,  there  were  thus  two  political  parties. 

Both  parties  supported  Washington  for  President ;    but    the 

Republicans  tried  hard,  though  in  vain,  to  defeat  Adams  for 

Vice  President. 

Opposition  to  the  Government  by  no  means  ended  with  the 
formation  of  parties  and  votes  at  the  polls.  The  Assembly  of 
Virginia  condemned  the  assumption  of  the  state  debts.  North 
Carolina  denounced  assumption  and  the  excise  law.  In  Mary- 
land a  resolution  declaring  assumption  dangerous  to  the  rights 
of  the  states  was  lost  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Speaker.  The 
•  right  of  Congress  to  tax  pleasure  carriages  was  tested  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  which  declared  the  tax  constitutional.  When 
V  that  court  decided  (1793)  that  a  citizen  of  one  state  might  sue 
another  state,  Virginia,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts  called 
for  a  constitutional  amendment  to  prevent  this,  and  the  Eleventh 
Amendment  was  proposed  by  Congress  (1794)  and  declared  in 
force  in  1798.  The  tax  on  whisky  caused  an  insurrection  in 
Pennsylvania. 

The  Whisky  Insurrection.  —  The  farmers  around  Pittsburg 
were  largely  engaged  in  distilling  whisky,  refused  to"  pay  the 
tax,  and  drove  off  the  collectors.  Congress  thereupon  (1794) 
enacted  a  law  to  enforce  the  collection,  but  when  the  marshal 
arrested  some  of  the  offenders,  the  people  rose,  drove  him 
away,  and  by  force  of  arms  prevented  the  execution  of  the  law. 
Washington  then  called  for  troops  from  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and  these  marching  across  the 
state  by  a  mere  show  of  force  brought  the  people  to  obedience. 
Leaders  of  the  insurrection  were  arrested,  tried,  and  convicted 
of  treason,  but  were  pardoned  by  Washington. ^ 

The  Indian  War.  —  Still  farther  west,  meantime,  a  great 
battle  had  been  fought  with  the  Indians.  The  succession  of 
boats  loaded  with  emigrants  floating  down  the  Ohio,  and  the 
1  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  189-204. 


THE  NEW  GOVERNMENT 


227 


arrivals  of  settlers  nortli  of  the  river  at  Marietta,  Gallipolis, 
and  Cincinnati,  had  greatly  excited  the  Indians.  The  coming  of 
the  whites  meant  the  destruction  of  game  and  of  fur-bearing 
animals,  and  the  pushing  westward  of  the  Indians.  This  the 
red  men  determined  to  resist,  and  did  so  by  attacking  boats  and 
killing  emigrants,  and  in  January,  1790,  they  marched  down  on 
the  settlement  called  Big_Bottom  (northwest  of  Marietta)  and 
swept  it  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Washington  sent  fifteen  hundred  troops  from  Kentucky 
and  Pennsylvania  against  the  Indians  in  the  autumn  of  1790. 
Led  by  Colonel  Ilarmar,  the  troops  burned  some  Indian  supplies 
and  villages,  but  accomplished  nothing  save  to  enrage  the 
Indians  yet  more. 
Washington  there- 
upon put  General  St. 
Clair  in  command, 
and  in  the  autumn  of 
^/  1191^t.  Clair  set  off  to 
build  a  chain^ofTorts 
from  Cincinnati  to 
Lake  INIichigan  ;  but 
the  Indians  surprised 
him  and  cut  his  army 
to  pieces. 

An  thony__  Way  ne 
was    next    placed    in 

command,     and      two  Territory  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville. 

years  were  spent  in  careful  preparation  before  he  began  his 
march  across  what  is  now  the  state  of  Ohio.  At  the  Falls  of 
the  Maumee  (August,  1794)  he  met  and  beat  the  Indians  so 
soundly  that  a  year  later,  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  a  last- 
ing peace  was  made  with  the  ten  great  nations  of  the  North- 
west. 

Neutrality.  —  Washington's  second  term  of  office  was  a 
stormy  time  in  foreign  as  well  as  in  domestic  affairs.  In 
February,  1793,  the  French  Republic  declared  war  on   Great 


228  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

Britain,  and  so  brought  up  the  question,  Which  side  shall  the 
United  States  take  ?  Washington  said  neither  side,  and  issued 
a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  warning  the  people  not  to  commit 
hostile  acts  in  favor  of  either  Great  Britain  or  France.  The 
Republicans  (and  many  who  were  Federalists)  grew  angry  at  this 


Washington's  coach. 

and  roundly  abused  the  President.  France,  they  said,  is  an  old 
friend ;  Great  Britain,  our  old  enemy.  France  helped  win  inde- 
pendence and  loaned  us  money  and  sent  us  troops  and  ships ; 
Great  Britain  attempted  to  enslave  us.  We  were  bound  to 
France  by  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  a  treaty  of  commerce; 
we  were  bound  to  Great  Britain  by  no  treaty  of  any  kind. 
To  be  neutral,  then,. was  to  be  ungrateful  to  France. ^  As  a 
result  the  Federalists  were  called  the  British  party,  and  they, 
in  turn,  called  the  Republicans  the  French  party  or  Democrats. 
Great  Britain  seizes  our  Ships.  —  To  preserve  neutrality  un- 
der such  conditions  would  have  been  hard  enough,  but  Great 
Britain  made  it  harder  still  by  seizing  American  merchant 
ships  that  were  carrying  lumber,  fish,  flour,  and  provisions  to 
the  French  West  Indies.^ 

1  Good  feeling  toward  France  led  the  Republicans  to  some  funny  extremes. 
To  address  a  person  as  Sir,  Mr.,  Mrs.,  or  Miss  was  unrepublican.  You  should 
say,  as  in  France,  Citizen  Jones,  or  Citess  Smith.  Tall  poles  with  a  red  liberty 
cap  on  top  were  erected  in  every  town  where  there  were  Republicans  ;  givic 
feasts  were  held  ;  and  July  14  (the  anniversary  of  the  day  the  Bastile  of  Paris 
fell  in  1789)  was  duly  celebrated. 

2  When  Great  Britain  drove  French  ships  from  the  sea,  France  threw  open 
the  trade  with  the  French  West  Indies  to  other  ships.  But  Great  Britain  had 
laid  down  a  rule  that  no  neutral  could  have  in  time  of  war  a  trade  with  her 
enemy  it  did  not  have  in  time  of  peace.  Our  merchants  fell  under  the  ban  of 
Great  Britain  for  this  reason. 


THE  NEW   GOVERNMENT  229 

Our  merchants  at  once  appealed  to  Congress  for  aid,  and  the 
Republicans  attempted  to  retaliate  on  Great  Britain  in  a  way 
that  might  have  brought  on  war.  In  this  they  failed,  but  Con- ' 
gress  laid  an  embargo  for  a  short  time,  preventing  all  our  ves- 
sels from  sailing  to  foreign  ports  ;  and  money  was  voted  to 
build  fortifications  at  the  seaports  from  Maine  to  Georgia,^ 
and  for  building  arsenals  at  Springfield  (Mass.)  and  C^lisle 
(Pa.),  and  for  constructing  six  frigates. ^ 

Washington  did  not  wish  war,  and  with  the  approval  of  the 
Senate    sent   Chief-Justice   John   Jay   to   London   to   make  a  U 
treaty  of  friendship  and  commerce  with  Great  Britain. 

Jay's  Treaty,  when  ratified  (1795),  was  far  from  what  was 
desired.  But  it  provided  for  the  delivery  of  the  posts  on  our  (^ 
northern  frontier,  its  other  provisions  were  the  best  that  could 
be  had,  and  it  insured  peace.  For  this  reason  among  others 
the  treaty  gave  great  offense  to  the  Republicans,  who  wanted 
the  United  States  to  quarrel  with  Great  Britain  and  take 
sides  with  France.  They  denounced  it  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other,  burned  copies  of  it  at  mass  meetings,  and 
hanged  Jay  in  effigy.  For  the  same  reason,  also,  France  took 
deep  offense. 

Treaty  with  Spain.  —  Our  treaty  with  Great  Britain  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  with  Spain,  by  which  the  vexed  question  of  the 
Mississippi  was  put  at  rest.  Spain  agreed  to  withdraw  her 
troops  from  all  her  posts  north  of  the  parallel  of  31  degrees. 
She  also  agreed  that  New  Orleans  should  be  a  port  of  deposit. 
This  was  of  great  advantage  to  the  growing  West,  for  the 
farmers,  thereafter,  could  float  their  bacon,  flour,  lumber,  etc. 

1  These  frigates  were  not  built.  They  were  really  intended  for  use  against 
the  Barbary  powers  (Morocco,  Tunis,  Algiers,  Tripoli)  that  were  plundering  our 
Mediterranean  commerce.  These  nations  of  northern  Africa  had  long  been  ac- 
customed to  prey  upon  European  ships  and  sell  the  crews  into  slavery.  To  obtain 
protection  against  such  treatment  the  nations  of  southern  Europe  paid  these 
pirates  an  annual  tribute.  Some  of  our  ships  and  sailors  were  captured,  and  as 
we  had  no  navy  with  which  to  protect  our  commerce,  a  treaty  was  made 
with  Algiers  (1795)  which  bound  us  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute  of  "twelve  thou- 
sand Algerine  sequins  in  maritime  stores."  We  shall  see  what  came  of  this 
a  few  years  later. 


230 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans  and  there 
sell  it  for  export  to  the  West  Indies  or  Europe. 

The  Election  of  1796.  —  Washington,  who  had  twice  been 
elected  President,  now  declined  to  serve  a  third  time,  and  in 
September,  1796,  announced  his  determination  by  publishing 
in  a  newspaper  what  is  called  his  Farewell   Address.^      There 


Last  page  of  the  autograph  copy  of  Washington's  Farewell  Address. 
In  the  Lenox  Library,  New  York. 

was  no  such  thing  as  a  national  party  convention  in  those  days, 
or  for  many  years  to  come.  The  Federalists,  however,  by 
common  consent,  selected  John  Adams  as  their  candidate  for 
President,  and  most  of  them  supported  Thomas  Pinckney  for 

1  In  tlie  Farewell  Address^  besides  giving  notice  of  his  retirement, 
Washington  argued  at  lengtli  against  sectional  jealousy  and  party  spirit,  and 
urged  the  promotion  of  institutions  "for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge." 
He  disapproved  of  large  standing  armies  ("overgrown  military  establish- 
ments"), and  earnestly  declared  that  our  true  policy  is  "  to  steer  clear  of 
permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world,"  especially  Euro- 
pean nations.     Washington  died  at  Mount  Vernon,  December  14,  1799. 


THE  NEW   GOVERNMENT  231 

Vice  President.  The  Republicans  put  forward  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son and  Aaron  Burr  and  others.  Tiie  French  minister  to  our 
country  used  his  influence  to  help  the  Republican  candidates ;  ^ 
but  when  the  election  was  over,  it  turned  out  tliat  Adams  ^ 
was  chosen  President  and  Jefferson  Vice  President.  Pinckney, 
the  Federalist  candidate  for  Vice  President,  was  defeated  be- 
cause he  failed  to  receive  the  votes  of  all  the  Federalist  elec- 
tors.^ 

The  X.  Y.  Z.  Affair.  —The  French  Directory,  a  body  of  five 
men  that  governed  the  French  Republic,  now  refused  to  receive 
a  minister  whom  Washington  had  just  sent  to  that  country 
(Charles  C.  Pinckney).  This  deliberate  affront  to  the  United 
States  was  denounced  by  Adams  in  his  first  jnessage  to  Con- 
gress ;  but  he  sent  to  Paris  a  special  commission  composed  of 
two  Federalists  and  one  Republican,^  in  an  earnest  effort  to 

1  He  called  on  all  French  citizens  living  in  the  United  States  to  wear  on 
their  hats  the  French  tricolor  (blue,  white,  and  red)  cockade,  and  of  course  all 
the  Republican  friends  of  France  did  the  same  and  made  it  their  party  badge. 
He  next  published  in  the  newspapers  a  long  letter  in  which  he  said,  in  sub- 
stance, that  unless  the  United  States  changed  its  policy  toward  France  it  might 
expect  trouble.  This  meant  that  unless  a  Kepublican  President  (Jefferson)  was 
elected,  there  might  be  war  between  the  two  countries. 

2  John  Adams  was  born  in  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  in  1735.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Harvard  College,  studied  law,  and  in  1770  was  one  of  the  lawyers 
who  defended  the  soldiers  that  were  tried  for  murder  in  connection  with  the 
famous  "Boston  Massacre."  He  was  sent  to  the  First  and  Second  Continental 
Congresses,  and  was  a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  to  frame  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  of  the  committee  to  arrange  treaties  with 
foreign  powers.  He  was  for  a  time  associated  with  Franklin  in  the  ministry  to 
France  ;  in  1780  went  as  minister  to  Holland  ;  and  in  1783  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain.  In  1785  he  was  appointed 
the  first  United  States  minister  to  Great  Britain  ;  and  in  1789-97  was  Vice 
President. 

3  Adams  received  71  votes,  Jefferson  68,  Pinckney  59,  Burr  30,  and  nine 
other  men  also  received  votes.  Under  the  original  Constitution  the  electors 
did  not  vote  separately  for  President  and  Vice  President.  Each  cast  one  bal- 
lot with  two  names  on  it ;  the  man  receiving  the  most  votes  (if  a  majority  of  the 
number  of  electors)  was  elected  President,  and  the  man  receiving  the  next  high- 
est number  was  elected  Vice  President.  Thus  it  happened  that  while  the 
Federalists  elected  tlie  President,  the  Republicans  elected  the  Vice  President. 

*  The  Federalists  were  John  Marshall  and  Charles  C.  Pinckney.  Elbridge 
Gerry  was  the  Republican  member. 


232  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

keep  the  peace.  These  commissioners  were  visited  by  three 
agents  of  the  Directory,  who  told  them  that  before  a  new  treaty 
could  be  made  they  must  give  a  present  of  150,000  to  each 
Director,  apologize  for  Adams's  denunciation  of  France,  and 
loan  a  large  sum  (practically  pay  tribute  money)  to  France. 

In  reporting  this  affair  to  Congress  the  Secretary  of  State 
concealed  the  names  of  the  French  agents  and  called  them  Mr. 
\/  ^,  Mr.  Y,  and  Mr.  Z.  This  gave  the  affair  the  name  of  the 
X.  Y.^Z.' Mission. 

Preparation  for  War  with  France  (1798).  —  The  reading  of 
the  dispatches  in  Congress  caused  a  great  change  in  feeling. 
The  country  had  been  insulted,  and  Congress,  forgetting 
politics,  made  preparations  for  war.  An  army  was  raised 
and  Washington  made  lieutenant  general.  The  NayyJPepart- 
ment  was  created  and  the  first  Secretar}^  of  the  Navy  ap- 
^  pointed.  Ships  were  built,  purchased,  and  given  to  the  govern- 
ment; and  with  the  cry,  ''Millions  for  defense,  not  a  cent  for 
tribute,"  the  people  offered  their  services  to  the  President,  and 
labored  without  pay  in  the  erection  of  forts  along  the  seaboard. 
Then  was  written  by  Joseph  Hopkinson,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
sung  for  the  first  time,  our  national  song  Hail^  Columbia!^ 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts.  —  In  preparing  for  war.  Congress 
had  acted  wisely.  But  the  Federalists,  whom  the  trouble  with 
France  had  placed  in  control  of  Congress,  also  passed  the 
Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  which  aroused  bitter  opposition. 

The   Alien   Acts    were    (1)    a    law    requiring    aliens,   or 

I      foreigners,  to  live  in  our  country  fourteen  years  before  they 

'      could  be  naturalized  and  become  citizens;  (2)  a  law  giving 

the  President  power,  for  the  next  two  years,  to  send  out  of  the 

"3  country  any  alien  he  thought  to  be  dangerous  to  the  peace  of 

the  United  States;  and  (3)  the  Alien  Enemies  Act  for  the  expul- 

'^   sion,  in  time  of  war,  of  the  subjects  of  the  hostile  government. 

The  Sedition  Act  provided  for  the  punishment  of  persons 
who  acted,  spoke,  or  wrote  in  a  seditious  manner,  that  is,  opposed 

1  Read  the  account  of  the  popular  excitement  in  McMaster's  History  of  the 
People  of  the  U.  iS.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  376-387. 


THE   NEW   GOVERNMENT 


233 


the  execution  of  any  law  of  the  United  States,  or  wrote,  printed, 
or  uttered  anything  with  intent  to  defame  the  government  of 
the  United  States  or  any  of  its  officials. 

Adams  did  not  use  the  power  given  him  by  the  second 
Alien  Act ;  but  the  Sedition  Act  was  rigorously  enforced  with 
fines  and  imprisonment.  Such  interference  with  the  liberty 
of  the  press  cost  Adams  much  of  his  popularity. 

The  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions.  —  The  Republi- 
cans were  greatly  excited  by  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  and 
at  the  suggestion  of  Jefferson  resolutions  condemning  them  as 
unconstitutional  ^  and  hence  "  utterly  void  and  of  no  force " 
were  passed  by  the  legislatures  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia. 

Seven  states  answered  with  resolutions  declaring  the  acts 
constitutional.  Whereupon,  in  the  following  year  J 1799)^ 
Kentucky  declared  that  when  a  state  thought  a  law  of  Con- 
gress unconstitutional,  that  state  might  veto  or  nullify  it,  that 
is,  forbid  its  citizens  to 
obey  it.  This  doctrine  of 
j^  nullification,  as  we  shall 
see,  was  later  of  serious 
importance. 

The  Naval    War    with 
France.  —  Meantime,    the 
little  navy  which  had  been  ^j 
so   hastily    prepared    was 
sent    to    scour    the    seas 

around  the    Frencli   West  ^    °  erpnse. 

Indies,  and  in  a  few  months  won  many  victories. ^      The  publi- 

1  That  is,  condemning  them  on  the  ground  that  the  Constitution  did  not  give 
Congi-ess  power  to  make  such  laws.  The  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions 
are  printed  in  full  in  MacDonald's  Select  Documents,  1776-1861,  pp.  149-160. 

2  One  squadron  that  captured  a  number  of  vessels  was  under  the  command 
of  Captain  John  Barry.  Another  squadron  under  Captain  Truxtun  captured 
sixty  French  privateers.  The  (TonsteUation  took  the  French  frigate  Insurgents 
and  beat  the  Vengeance,  which  escaped ;  the  Enterprise  captured  eight  priva- 
teers and  recaptured  four  American  merchantmen  ;  and  the  Boston  captured 
the  Berceau.  During  the  war  eighty-four  armed  French  vessels  were  taken  by 
our  navy. 


234 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


cation  of  the  X.  Y.  Z.  letters  created  almost  as  much  in- 
dignation in  France  as  in  our  country,  and  forced  the  Directory 
to  send  word  that  if  other  commissioners  came,  they  would  be 
received.  Adams  thereupon  appointed  three  ;  but  when  they 
reached  France  the  Directory  had  fallen  from  power.  Napoleon 
was  ruling,  and  with  him  a  nejw'jtreaty  was  concluded  in  1800. 
The  Election  of  1800. — The  cost  of  this  war  made  new 
taxes  necessary,  and  these,  coupled  with  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
Acts,  did  much  to  bring  about  the  defeat  of  the  Federalists. 

Their  candidates  for  the 
presidency  and  vice  presi- 
dency were  John  Adams 
and  Charles  C.  Pinckney. 
The  Republicans  nomina- 
ted Jefferson  1  and  Aaron 
Burr,  and  won.  Unfortu- 
nately Jefferson  and  Burr 
each  received  the  same 
number  of  votes,  so  it 
became  the  duty  of  the 
House  of  Representatives 
to  determine  which  should 
be  President.  When  the 
Thomas  Jefferson.  jjouse  elects  a  President, 

each  state,  no  matter  how  many  representatives  it  may  have, 
casts  one  vote.     There  were  then  sixteen  states  ^  in  the  Union. 


1  Thomas  Jefferson  was  born  on  a  Virginia  plantation  April  13,  1743,  at- 
tended William  and  Mary  College,  studied  law,  and  in  1769  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  He  rose  into  notice  as  a  defender 
of  colonial  rights,  was  sent  to  the  Second  Continental  Congress,  and  in  1776 
wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Between  1776  and  1789  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  legislature,  governor  of  Virginia,  member  of  Congress 
(1783-1784),  and  minister  to  France  (1784-1789).  He  was  a  strict  construc- 
tionist of  the  Constitution  ;  he  wrote  the  original  draft  of  the  Kentucky  Reso- 
lutions of  1798,  had  great  faith  in  the  ability  of 'the  people  to  govern  themselves, 
and  dreaded  the  growth  of  great  cities  and  the  extension  of  the  powers  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  lie  and  John  Adams  died  the  same  day,  July  4,  1826,  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

2  Tennessee,  the  sixteenth,  was  admitted  in  1796. 


TPIE  NEW   GOVERNMENT  235 

The  votes  of  nine,  therefore,  were  necessary  to  elect.  But  the 
Federalists  held  the  votes  of  six,  and  as  the  representatives  of 
two  more  were  equally  divided,  the  Federalists  thought  they 
could  say  who  should  be  President,  and  tried  hard  to  elect  Burr. 
Finally  some  of  them  yielded  and  allowed  the  Republicans  to 
make  Jefferson  President,  thus  leaving  Burr  to  be  Vice  Presi- 
dent. 

President  Jefferson. — The  inauguration  took  place  on  Marcli 
.4,  ISOL  at  Washington,  to  which  city  the  government  was  re- 
moved from  Philadelphia  in  the  summer  of  JSOQ.^  Everywhere 
the  day  was  celebrated  with  bell  ringing,  cannonading,  dinners, 
and  parades.  The  people  had  triumphed  ;  "  the  Man  of  the 
People"  was  President.  Monarchy,  aristocracy,  and  Feder- 
alism, it  was  said,  had  received  a  deathblow. 

1  A  story  is  current  that  on  inauguration  day  Jefferson  rode  unattended  to 
the  Capitol  and  tied  his  horse  to  the  fence  before  entering  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber and  taking  the  oath  of  office.  The  story  was  invented  by  an  English 
traveler  and  is  pure  fiction.  The  President  walked  to  the  Capitol  attended  by 
militia  and  the  crowd  of  supporters  who  came  to  witness  the  end  of  the  contested 
election,  and  was  saluted  by  the  guns  of  a  company  of  artillery  as  he  entered  the 
Senate  Chamber  and  again  as  he  came  out. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution  passed  laws  establishing 
the  executive  departments  and  the  United  States  courts,  and  other  laws 
necessary  to  put  the  new  government  in  operation. 

2.  The  debts  incurred  during  the  Revolution  were  assumed  and  funded, 
and  the  permanent  seat  of  government  (after  1800)  was  located  on  the 
Potomac. 

3.  Import  and  excise  duties  were  laid,  a  national  bank  was  chartered, 
and  a  mint  was  established  for  coining  United  States  money. 

4.  In  Washington's  second  term  as  President  (1793-97)  there  was  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  France,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  our  gov- 
ernment succeeded  in  remaining  neutral. 

5.  Treaties  were  made  with  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  whereby  these 
powers  withdrew  from  the  posts  they  held  in  our  country,  the  right  of  dejjosit 
at  New  Orleans  was  secured,  and  peace  was  preserved. 

6.  A  five  years'  Indian  war  in  the  Northwest  Territory  was  ended  by 
Wayne's  victory  (1794)  and  the  treaty  of  Greenville  (1795). 


236 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


7.  The  people  of  western  Pennsylvania  resisted  the  excise  tax  on 
whisky,  but  their  insurrection  was  easily  suppressed  by  a  force  of  militia. 

8.  Differences  on  questions  of  domestic  and  foreign  policy  had  resulted 
in  the  growth  of  the  Federalist  and  Republican  parties,  but  party  organiza- 
tion was  imperfect.  In  1796  Adams  (Federalist)  was  elected  President,  and 
Jefferson  (Republican)  Vice  President. 

9.  The  British  treaty  and  the  election  of  Adams  gave  offense  to  the 
French  government,  which  made  insulting  demands  upon  our  commissioners 
sent  to  that  country.  A  brief  naval  war  in  the  French  West  Indies  was 
ended  by  a  treaty  made  by  a  new  French  government  in  1800. 

10.  The  passage  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts  brought  out  protests 
against  them  in  what  are  called  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of 
1798-99,  one  of  which  claimed  the  right  of  a  state  to  nullify  an  act  of  Con- 
gress which  it  deemed  unconstitutional. 

11.  In  the  next  presidential  election  (1800)  the  Republicans  were  suc- 
cessful ;  but  as  Jefferson  and  Burr  had  each  the  same  number  of  votes,  the 
House  of  Representatives  had  to  decide  which  should  be  President  and 
which  Vice  President.  After  a  long  contest  Jefferson  was  given  the  higher 
office,  as  the  Republicans  had  wished. 


A  silhouette,  a  kind  of  portrait  often  made  before  1840. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

GROWTH  OF   THE   COUNTRY,   1789-1805 

Prosperity.  —  Twelve  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  meet- 
ing at  New  York  of  the  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution, 
and  they  had  been  years  of  great  prosperity. 

When  Washington  took  the  oath  of  office,  each  state 
regulated  its  trade  with  foreign  countries  and  with  its  neigh- 
bors in  its  own  way,  and  issued  its  own  paper  money,  which 
it  made  legal  tender.  Agriculture  was  in  a  primitive  stage, 
very  little  cotton  was  grown,  mining  was  but  little  practiced, 
manufacture  had  not  passed  the  household  stage,  trans- 
portation was  slow  and  costly,  and  in  all  the  states  but  three 
banks  had  been  chartered.^ 

With  the  establishment  of  a  strong  and  vigorous  govern- 
ment under  the  new  Constitution,  and  the  passage  of  the  much- 
needed  laws  we  have  mentioned,  these  conditions  began  to 
pass  away.  Now  that  the  people  had  a  government  that  could 
raise  revenue,  pay  its  debts,  regulate  trade  with  foreign  na- 
tions and  between  the  states,  enforce  its  laws,  and  provide  a 
uniform  currency,  confidence  returned.  Men  felt  safe  to  en- 
gage in  business,  and  as  a  consequence  trade  and  commerce 
revived,  and  money  long  unused  was  brought  out  and  in- 
vested. Banks  were  incorporated  and  their  stock  quickly 
purchased.  Manufacturing  companies  were  organized  and 
mills  and  factories  started;  a  score  of  canals  were  planned 
and  the  building  of  several  was  begun  ;  ^   turnpike  companies 

iRead  "Town  and  Country  Life  in  1800,"  Chap,  xii  in  McMaster's  His- 
toid of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II. 

2  The  Middlesex  from  Boston  to  Lowell  ;  the  Dismal  Swamp  in  Virginia  ; 
the  Santee  in  South  Carolina. 

237 


238 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


were  cliartered ;  lotteries  ^  were  authorized  to  raise  money 
for  all  sorts  of  public  improvements,  —  schools,  churches, 
wharves,  factories,  and  bridges  ;  and  speculation  in  stock  and 
Western  land  became  a  rage. 

New  Industries.  —  It  was  during  the  decade  1790-1800  that 
Slater  built  the  first  mill  for  working 
cotton  yarn  ;  ^  that  Eli  Terry  began  the 
manufacture  of  clocks  as  a  business  ; 
that  sewing  thread  was  first  made  in  our 
country  (at  Pawtucket,  R.  I.)  ;  that 
Jacob  Perkins  began  to  make  nails  by 
machine  ;  that  the  first  broom  was  made 
from  broom  corn ;  that  the  first  carpet 
mill  and  the  first  cotton  mill  were 
started  ;  that  Eli  Whitney  invented  the 
cotton  gin ;  and  that  the  first  steamboat 
went  up  and  down  the  Delaware. 

The  Cottonljin.  —  BeTore   1790  the 
products  of  the  states  south  of  Virginia 
were  tar,  pitch,  lumber,  rice,  and  indigo. 
But  the  destruction  of  the  indigo  plants 
by  insects  year  after  year  suggested  the  cultivation  of  some 


A  Terry  clock. 


1  In  those  days  lotteries  for  public  purposes  were  not  thought  wrong.  The 
Continental  Congress  and  many  state  legislatures  used  them  to  raise  revenue. 
Congress  authorized  one  to  secure  money  with  which  to  improve  Washington 
city.  Faneuil  Hall  in  Boston  and  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia  were 
aided  by  lotteries.  Private  lotteries  had  been  forbidden  by  many  of  the  colo- 
nies. But  the  states  continued  to  authorize  lotteries  for  public  purposes  till 
after  1830,  when  one  by  one  they  forbade  all  lotteries. 

2  Parliament  in  1774  forbade  anyone  to  take  away  from  England  any  draw- 
ing or  model  of  any  machine  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  No  such 
machines  were  allowed  in  our  country  in  colonial  times.  In  1787,  however,  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  voted  six  tickets  in  the  State  Land  Lottery  to  two 
Scotchmen  named  Burr  to  help  them  build  a  spinning  jenny.  About  the  same 
time  £200  was  given  to  a  man  named  Somers  to  help  him  construct  a  machine. 
The  models  thus  built  were  put  in  the  Statehouse  at  Boston  for  anybody  to 
copy  who  wished,  and  mills  were  soon  started  at  Worcester,  Beverly,  and  Provi- 
dence. But  it  was  not  till  1790,  when  Samuel  Slater  came  to  America,  that  the 
great  English  machines  were  introduced.  Slater  was  familiar  with  them  and 
made  his  from  memory. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY,   1789-1805 


239 


other   crop,  and    cotton  was  tried. 

To   clean   it   of  its   seeds  by  hand 

was  slow  and  costly,  and  to  remove 

the  difficulty  Eli  Whitney  of  Massa- 
chusetts, then  a  young  man  living 

in    Georgia,    invented    a    machine 

called  the    cotton  gin.^     Then  the 

cultivation  of  cotton  became  most 

profitable,   and   the    new    industry 

spread  rapidly  in  the  South. 

The   Steamboat.  —  The    idea    of 

driving    boats    through    water    by 

machinery  moved  by  steam  was  an 

old  one.     Several    men    had   made 

such  experiments  in  our  country  before  1790.2     But  in   that 

year  John  Fitch  put  a 
steamboat  on  the  Del- 
aware and  during  four 
months  ran  it  regu- 
larly from  Philadelphia 
to  Trenton.  He  was 
ahead  of  his  time  and 
for  lack  of  support  was 
forced  to  erive  up  the  en- 

Model  ot  Fitch's  steamboat.  ,  °  ^ 

[n  the  National  Museum,  Washington.  iCipriSe. 


Model  of  Whitney's  cotton  gin. 
In  the  National  Museum,  Wasliiii^'-ton. 


1  Eli  Whitney  was  born  in  1765,  and  while  still  a  lad  showed  great  skill  in 
making  and  handling  tools.  After  graduating  from  Yale  College,  he  went  to 
reside  in  the  family  of  General  Greene,  who  had  been  given  a  plantation  by 
Georgia.  While  he  was  making  the  first  cotton  gin,  planters  came  long  dis- 
tances to  see  it,  and  before  it  was  finished  and  patented  some  one  broke  into 
the  building  where  it  was  and  stole  it.  In  1794  he  received  a  patent,  but  he 
was  unable  to  enforce  his  rights.  After  a  few  years,  South  Carolina  bought  his 
right  for  that  state,  and  North  Carolina  levied  a  tax  on  cotton  gins  for  his 
benefit.     But  the  sum  he  received  was  very  small. 

2  James  Eumsey,  as  early  as  1785,  had  experimented  with  a  steamboat  on 
the  Potomac,  and  about  the  same  time  John  Fitch  built  one  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  succeeded  so  well  that  in  1786  and  in  1787  one  of  his  boats  made  trial  trips 
on  the  Delaware.  Later  in  1787  Rumsey  ran  a  steamboat  on  the  Potomac  at 
the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour. 

MCM.   BRIEF 15 


240  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

The  New  West.  —  In  the  western  country  ten  years  had 
wrought  a  great  change.  Good  times  in  the  commercial  states 
and  the  Indian  war  in  the  West  had  done  niuch  to  keep  popula- 
tion out  of  the  Northwest  Territory  from  1790  to  1795.  But 
from  the  South  population  had  moved  steadily  over  the  moun- 
tains into  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  new  state 
of  Kentucky  (admitted  in  1792)  grew  rapidly  in  population. 

North  Carolina,  after  ratifying  the  Constitution,  again 
ceded  her  Western  territory,  and  out  of  this  and  the  narrow 
strip  ceded  by  South  Carolina,  Congress  (1790)  made  the 
"  Territory  of  the  United  States  south  of  the  river  Ohio."  But 
population  came  in  such  numbers  that  in  1796  the  North  Caro- 
lina cession  was  admitted  as  the  state  of  Tennessee. 

In  the  far  South,  after  Spain  accepted  the  boundary  of  31°, 
Congress  established  the  territory  of  Mississippi  (1798),  con- 
sisting of  most  of  the  southern  half  of  the  present  states  of 
Mississippi  and  Alabama.  Four  years  later  Georgia  accepted 
her  present  boundaries,  and  the  territory  of  Mississippi  was 
then  enlarged  so  as  to  include  all  the  Western  lands  ceded  by 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  (map,  p.  242). 

Cleveland.  —  Jay's  treaty,  by  providing  for  the  surrender  of 
the  forts  along  the  Great  Lakes,  opened  that  region  to  settle- 
ment, and  in  1796  Moses  Cleaveland  led  a  New  England  colony 
across  New  York  and  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie  laid  out  the 
town  which  now  beal-s  his  name.  Others  followed,  and  by  1800 
there  were  thirty-two  settlements  in  the  Connecticut  Reserve. 

Detroit.  —  The  chief  town  of  the  Northwest  was  Detroit. 
Wayne,  who  saw  it  in  1796,  described  it  as  a  crowded  mass  of  one- 
and  two-story  buildings  separated  by  streets  so  narrow  that  two 
wagons  could  scarcely  pass.  Around  the  town  was  a  stockade 
of  high  pickets  with  bastions  and  cannon  at  proper  distances, 
and  within  the  stockade  "a  kind  of  citadel."  The  only  en- 
trances were  through  two  gates  defended  by  blockhouses  at 
either  end  of  a  street  along  the  river.  Every  night  from 
sunset  to  sunrise  the  gates  were  shut,  and  during  this  time 
no  Indian  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the  town. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  1789-1805 


241 


v 


Indiana  Territory.  —  After  Wayne's  treaty  with  the  Indians, 
five  years  brought  so  many  people  into  the  Northwest  Territory 
that  in  1800  the  western  part  was  cut  off  and  made  the  separate 
territory  of  Indiana. ^  Not  6,000  white  people  then  lived  in  all 
its  vast  area. 

The  census  of  1800  showed  that  more  than  5,000,000  peo- 
ple then  dwelt  in  our  country;  of  these,  nearly  400,000  were 
in  the  five  Western  states  and  territories  —  Kentucky,  Ten- 
nessee, Northwest,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 

Public  Land  on  Credit.  —  The  same  year  (1800)  in  which 
Congress  created  the  territory  of  Indiana,  it  changed  the  man- 
ner of  selling  the  pub- 


-. ^.^^ 


(•.-.•..l.iDots  indicate  regions  settled^; 
t*:*^  between  1790  and  1810  v 


p;- — j-^ -vr^'r^r?; 

I    i.H  i    J-iff 


Settled  area  in  i8io. 


lie  lands.  Hitherto 
the  buyer  had  been 
obliged  to  pay  cash. 
After  1800  he  might 
buy  on  credit,  paying 
one  quarter  annually. 
The  effect  of  this  was 
to  bring  settlers  into 
the  West  in  such  num- 
bers that  the  state 
of  Ohio  was  admitted 
in  1803,  and  the  territory  of  Michigan  formed  in  1805.2 

France  acquires  Louisiana.  —  For  yet  another  reason  the  year 
1800  is  a  memorable  one  in  our  history.  When  the  French 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  heard  that  Spain  (in  1795)  had 
agreed  that  31°  north  latitude  should  be  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween us  and  West  Florida,  he  became  alarmed.     He  feared 

1  Not  the  Indiana  of  to-day,  but  the  great  region  including  what  is  now 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  half  of  Michigan  and  Minnesota.  The  settle- 
ments were  Mackinaw,  Green  Bay,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Cahokia,  Belle  Fontaine, 
L'Aigle,  Kaskaskia,  Prairie  du  Rocher,  Fort  Massac,  and  Vincennes.  Notice 
that  most  of  these  names  are  of  French  origin.  The  governor  was  William  H. 
Harrison,  afterward  a  President. 

2  In  1809  Illinois  territory  was  created  from  the  western  part  of  Indiana 
territory.  When  the  census  was  taken  in  1810,  nearly  1,000,000  people  were 
living  west  of  the  Appalachians. 


242 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY,    1789-1805 


243 


that  our  next  step  would  be  to  acquire  West  Florida,  and  per- 
haps the  country  west  of  tlie  Mississippi.  To  prevent  this  he 
asked  Spain  to  give  Louisiana  back  to  France  as  France  had 
given  it  to  Spain  in  1762  (see  page  143);  France  would  then 
occupy  and  hold  it  forever.  Spain  refused  ;  but  soon  after 
Napoleon  came  into  power  the  request  was  renewed  in  so 
tempting  a  form  that  Spain  yielded,  and  by  a  secret  treaty 
returned  Louisiana  to   France  in   1800. 

The  Mississippi  Closed  to  our  Commerce.  —  The  treaty  for  a 
while  was  kept  secret ;  but  w^lien  it  became  known  that  Napoleon 
was  about  to  send  an  army 
to  take  possession  of  Louisi- 
ana, a  Spanish  official  at 
New  Orleans  took  away  the 
"right  of  deposit"  at  tliat 
city  and  so  prevented  our 
citizens  from  sending  their 
produce  out  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  This  was  a  violation 
of  the  treaty  with  Spain, 
and  the  settlers  in  the  val- 
ley from  Pittsburg  to  Natchez 
demanded  the  instant  seiz- 
ure of  New  Orleans.  In- 
deed, an  attempt  w^as  made  in  Congress  to  authorize  the 
formation  of  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  for  this  very 
purpose. 

Louisiana  Purchased,  1803. — But  President  Jefferson  did 
not  want  ^var ;  instead,  he  obtained  the  consent  of  Congress  to 
offer  J2,000,000  for  West  Florida  and  Ne\v_Orleans.  Monroe 
was  then  sent  to  Paris  to  aid  Livingston,  our  minister,  in  mak- 
ing the  purchase,  and  much  to  their  surprise  Napoleon  offered 
to  sell  all  JLouisiana.^  After  some  hesitation  the  offer  was 
accepted.     The  price  was  115,000,000,  of   which  $11,250,000 

1  Read  the  scene  between  Napoleon  and  his  brothers  over  the  sale  of  Louisi- 
ana, as  told  in  Adams's  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  33-39. 


The  Cabildo,  City  Hall  of  New  Orleans. 


244  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

was  paid  to  France  and  83,750,000  to  citizens  of  our  country 
who  had   chiims   against  France. ^ 

The  Boundaries  of  Louisiana.  —  The  splendid  territory  thus 
acquired  had  never  been  given  definite  bounds.  But  resting 
on  the  discoveries  and  explorations  of  Marquette,  Joliet,  and 
La  Salle,  Louisiana  was  understood  to  extend  westward  to  the 
Rio  Grande  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  northward  to  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  that  flowed  into  the  Mississippi.  Whether 
the  purchase  included  West  Florida  was  doubtful,  but  we  claimed 
it,  so  that  our  claim  extended  eastward  to  the  Perdido  River. 

The  Territory  of  Orleans.  —  The  country  having  been 
acquired,  it  had  to  be  governed.  So  much  of  it  as  lay  west  of 
the  Mississippi  and  south  of  33°  north  latitude,  with  the  city  of 
New  Orleans  and  the  region  round  about  it,  was  made  the  new 
territory  of  Orleans.  The  rest  of  the  purchase  west  of  the 
Mississippi  was  called  the  territory  of  Louisiana  (map,  p.  242). 

Louisiana  Explored.  —  When  the  Louisiana  purchase  was 
made  in  1803,  most  of  the  country  was  an  unknown  land.  But 
in  1804  an  exploring  party  under  Meriwether  Lewis  and 
William  Clark  ^  went  up  the  Missouri  River  from  St.   Louis, 

1  The  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  France  took  place  on  November  30, 1803,  and  the 
delivery  to  us  on  December  20.  Our  commissioners  William  C.  C.  Claiborne 
and  James  Wilkinson  met  the  French  commissioner  Laussat  (lo-sah')  in  the 
hall  of  the  Cabildo  (a  building  still  in  existence,  p.  243),  presented  their  creden- 
tials, received  the  keys  of  the  city,  and  listened  to  Laussat  as  he  proclaimed 
Louisiana  the  property  of  the  United  States  This  ceremony  over,  the  commis- 
sioners stepped  out  on  a  balcony  to  witness  the  transfer  of  flags.  The  tricolor 
which  floated  from  the  top  of  a  staff  in  the  Place  d'Armes  (now  Jackson 
Square)  was  drawn  slowly  down  and  the  stars  and  stripes  as  slowly  raised 
till  the  two  met  midway,  when  both  were  saluted  by  cannon.  Our  flag  was 
then  raised  to  the  top  of  the  pole,  and  that  of  France  lowered  and  placed 
in  the  hands  of  Laussat.  One  hundred  years  later  the  anniversary  was  cele- 
brated by  repeating  the  same  ceremony.  The  Federalists  bitterly  opposed 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.., 
Vol.  II,  pp.  629-631.  For  descriptions  of  life  in  Louisiana,  read  Cable's  Creoles 
of  Louisiana,  The  Grandissimes,  and  Strange  True  Stories  of  Louisiana. 

2  Both  Lewis  and  Clark  were  Virginians  and  experienced  Indian  fighters. 
On  their  return  Lewis  was  made  governor  of  the  upper  Louisiana  territory,  later 
called  Missouri  territory  ;  and  died  near  Nashville  in  1809.  Clark  was  likewise 
a  governor  of  Missouri  territory  and  later  a  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs ; 
he  died  at  St.  Louis  in  1838.     He  was  a  younger  brother  of  George  Rogers  Clark. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY,    1789-1805 


245 


spent  the  winter  of  1804-5  in  what  is  now  North  Dakota,  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  summer  of  1805,  and  went  down 
the  Columbia  to  the  Pacific.  After  passing  a  winter  (1805-6) 
near  the  coast,  the  party 
started  eastward  in  the 
spring,  recrossed  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  the  autumn 
reached  St.  Louis. 

St.  Louis  was  then  a  little 
frontier  hamlet  of  maybe  a 
thousand  people  of  all  sorts 
—  French,  Spanish,  Ameri- 
can, negro  slaves,  and  Indians. 
The  houses  were  built  on  a 
bottom  or  terrace  at  the  foot 


Branding  iron  used  by  Lewis. 


of  a  limestone    cliff   and    arranged    along  a  few    streets   with 
French  names.     The  cliief  occupation   of  the  people  was  the 
fur   trade,  and    to  them    the  reports  brought  back  by  Lewis 
and  Clark  were  so  exciting   that  the  St.  Louis  Fur  Company  \/ 
was  organized  to  hunt  and  trap  on  the  upper  Missouri. 

Reforms  in  the  States.  —  During  the  years  which  had  passed 
since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  great  political 
reforms  had  been  made.  The  doctrine  that  all  men  are  born 
politically  equal  was  being  put  into  practice,  and  the  states  had 
begun  to  reform  their  old  constitutions  or  to  adopt  new  ones,  \/ 
abolishing  religious  qualifications  for  officeholders  or  voters,^ 
and  doing  away  with  the  property  qualifications  formerly  re- 
quired of  voters.2  Some  states  had  reformed  their  laws  for 
punishing  crime,  had  reduced  the  number  of  crimes  punishable 
with  death  from  fifteen  or  twenty  to  one  or  two,  and  had  abol- 
ished whipping,  branding,  cutting  off  the  ears,  and  other  cruel 
punishments   of   colonial    times.     The   right    of   man    to   life. 


1  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 

2  In  Pennsylvania  all  free  male  taxpayers  could  vote.  Georgia  and  Dela- 
ware gave  the  suffrage  to  all  free  white  male  taxpayers.  In  Vermont  and 
Kentucky  there  had  never  been  a  property  qualification. 


246  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   UNION 

liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  was  more  fully  recognized 
than  ever  before. 

Reforms  in  the  Federal  Government.  — When  the  Republican 
party  came  into  power  in  1801,  it  was  pledged  to  make  reforms 
"  to  put  the  ship  of  state,"  as  Jefferson  said,  ''  on  the  Republi- 
can tack."  About  a  third  of  the  important  Federalist  office- 
holders were  accordingly  removed  from  office,  the  annual 
speech  at  the  opening  of  Congress  was  abolished,  and  the 
written  message  introduced  —  a  custom  followed  ever  since  by 
our  Presidents.  Internal  taxes  were  repealed,  the  army  was 
reduced,^  the  cost  of  government  lessened,  and  millions  of  dollars 
set  aside  annually  for  the  payment  of  the  national  debt. 

That  there  might  never  again  be  such  a  contested  election 
as  that  of  1800,  Congress  submitted  to  the  states  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  providing  that  the  electors  should 
vote  for  President  and  Vice  President  on  separate  ballots,  and 
not  as  theretofore  on  the  same  ballot.  The  states  promptly  rati- 
fied, and  as  the  Twelfth  Amendment  it  went  into  force  in  1804 
in  time  for  the  election  of  that  year. 

Jefferson  Reelected.  —  The  Federalist  candidates  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  in  1804  were  Charles  C.  Pinckney  and 
Ruf us  King ;  but  the  Republican  candidates,  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  George  Clinton,^  were  elected  by  a  very  large  majority. 

Burr  kills  Hamilton.  —  Vice-President  Burr,  who  had  con- 
sented to  be  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  in  1801  (p.  235) 
against  Jefferson,  had  never  been  forgiven  by  his  party,  and 
had  ever  since  been  a  political  outcast.  His  friends  in  New 
York,  however,  nominated  him  for  governor  and  tried  to  get 
the  support  of  the  Federalists,  but  Hamilton  sought  to  prevent 
this.  After  Burr  was  defeated  he  challenged  Hamilton  to  a 
duel  (July,  1804)  and  killed. him.  '^ 

1  In  1802,  however,  there  was  founded  the  United  States  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point. 

2  Clinton  was  born  in  1739,  took  an  active  part  in  Revolutionary  affairs, 
was  chosen  governor  of  New  York  in  1777,  and  was  reelected  every  election  for 
eighteen  years.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  popular  party  in  that  state,  was  twice 
chosen  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  and  died  in  that  office  in  1812. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY,    1789-1805 


247 


Burr's  Conspiracy.  —  Fearing  arrest  for  murder,  Burr  fled  to 
Philadelphia  and  applied  to  the  British  minister  for  British 
help  in  effecting  ''  a  separation  of  the  western  part  of  the  United 
States  from  that  which  lies  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  mountains";  for  he 
believed  the  people  in  Orleans  territory 
were  eager  to  throw  off  American  rule. 
After  the  end  of  his  term  as  Vice  Presi- 
dent (March  4,  1805)  Burr  went  west 
and  came  back  with  a  scheme  for  con- 
quering a  region  in  the  southwest, 
enlisted  a  few  men  in  his  enterprise, 
assembled  them  at  Blennerhassets  Island 
in  the  Ohio  River  (a  few  miles  below 
Marietta),  and  (in  December,  1806) 
started  for  New  Orleans.  The  boats 
with  men  and  arms  floated  down  the 
Ohio,  entered  the  Mississippi,  and  were 
going  down  that  river  when  General 
James  Wilkinson,  a  fellow-conspirator, 
betrayed  the  scheme  to  Jefferson.  Burr  was  arrested  and  sent 
to  Virginia,  charged  with  levying  war  against  the  United 
States,  which  was  treason,  and  with  setting  on  foot  a  military 
expedition  against  the  dominions  of  the  king  of  Spain,  which 
was  a  "high  misdemeanor."  Of  the  charge  of  treason  Burr 
was  acquitted;  that  of  high  misdemeanor  was  sent  to  a  court  in 
Ohio  for  trial,  and  came  to  naught.^ 


Burr's  grave  at  Princeton, 
N.J. 


1  Burr's  trial  was  conducted  (in  a  circuit  court)  with  rigid  impartiality  by 
Chief-Justice  John  Marshall,  one  of  the  greatest  judges  our  country  has  known. 
As  head  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  thirty-four  years  (1801-35),  he  rendered 
many  decisions  of  lasting  influence. 


SUMMARY 


1.  AVith  the  establishment  of  government  under  the  Constitution,  con- 
fidence was  restored  and  prosperity  began. 

2.  Banks   were  chartered  by  the  states,  some   roads  and  canals  were 


248 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


constructed,  and  money  was  gathered  by  lotteries  for  all  sorts  of  public 
•improvements. 

3.  New  industries  were  started,  and  the  cotton  gin  and  other  machines 
were  invented. 

4.  The  defeat  of  the  Indians,  the  removal  of  the  British  and  Spanish 
from  our  Western  country,  and  the  sale  of  public  land  on  credit  encouraged 
a  stream  of  emigrants  into  the  West. 

5.  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  entered  the  Union,  and  the  terri- 
tories of  Mississippi,  Indiana,  and  Michigan  were  organized. 

6.  The  cession  of  Louisiana  to  France  in  1800,  and  the  closing  of  the 
Mississippi  River  to  Americans,  led  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803. 

7.  This  great  region  was  organized  into  the  territories  of  Orleans  and 
Louisiana ;  and  the  width  of  the  continent  from  St.  Louis  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  was  explored  by  Lewis  and  Clark. 

8.  Many  reforms  were  made  in  the  state  and  national  governments 
tending  to  make  them  more  democratic. 

9.  In  1804  Jefferson  was  reelected  President,  but  Burr  was  not  again 
chosen  Vice  President.  Having  engaged  in  a  plan  for  conquering  a  region 
in  the  southwest  (1806),  Burr  was  arrested  for  treason,  b.ut  was  not  con- 
demned. 


CHAPTER  XX 
THE  STRUGGLE   FOR  COMMERCIAL   INDEPENDENCE 

War  with  Tripoli. —  In  his  first  inaugural  Jefferson  an- 
nounced a  policy  of  peace,  commerce,  and  friendship  with  all 
nations ;  but  unhappily  he  was  not  able  to  carry  it  out.  Under 
treaties  with  Algiers,  Tripoli,  and  Tunis,  we  had  paid  tribute 
or  made  presents  to  these  powers,  to  prevent  them  from  attack- 
ing our  ships.  In  1800,  however,  when  Adams  sent  the  yearly 
tribute  to  Algiers,  the  ruler  of  Tripoli  demanded  a  large  present, 
and  when  it  did  not  come,  declared  war.  Expecting  trouble 
with  this  nest  of  pirates,  Jefferson  in  1801  sent  over  a  fleet 
which  was  to  blockade  the  coast  of  Tripoli  and  that  of  any 
other  Barbary  power  that  might  be  at  war  with  us.  But  four 
years  passed,  and  Tripoli  was  five  times  bombarded  before 
terms  of  peace  were  dictated  by  Captain  Rodgers  under  the 
muzzles  of  his  guns  (1805).^ 

Great  Britain  and  France.  — While  our  contest  with  Tripoli 
was  dragging  along,  France  and  Great  Britain  again  went  to 
war  (1803),  and  our  neutral  rights  were  again  attacked.  Brit> 
ish  cruisers  captured  many  American  ships  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  carrying  on  trade  between  the  ports  of  France  and 
her  colonies. 

Napoleon  attacked  British  commerce  by  decrees  which 
closed  the  ports  of  Europe  to  British  goods,  declared  a  blockade 
of  the  British  Isles,  and  made  subject  to  capture  any  neutral 

1  During  the  war,  in  1803,  the  frigate  Philadelphia  ran  on  the  rocks  in  the 
harbor  of  Tripoli,  and  was  captured  by  the  Tripolitans.  The  Americans  then 
determined  to  destroy  her.  Stephen  Decatur  sailed  into  the  harbor  with  a  vol- 
unteer crew  in  a  little  vessel  disguised  as  a  fishing  boat.  The  Tripolitans  allowed 
the  Americans  to  come  close,  whereupon  they  boarded  the  Philadelphia^  drove 
oh'  the  pirate  crew,  set  the  vessel  on  fire,  and  escaped  unharmed. 
249 


250  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

vessels  that  touched  at  a  British  port.  Great  Britain  replied 
with  orders  in  council,  blockading  the  ports  of  France  and  her 
allies,  and  requiring  all  neutral  vessels  going  to  a  closed  port 
to  stop  at  some  British  port  and  pay  tribute. ^ 

As  Great  Britain  ruled  the  sea,  and  Napoleon  most  of 
western  Europe,  these  decrees  and  orders  meant  the  ruin  of  our 
commerce.  Against  such  rules  of  war  our  government  pro- 
tested, claiming  the  right  of  "free  trade,"  or  the  "freedom  of 
the  seas,"  —  the  right  of  a  neutral  to  trade  with  either  belliger- 

Y  ent,  provided  the  goods  were  not  for  use  in  actual  war  (as  guns, 
powder,  and  shot). 

Our  Sailors  Impressed.  —  But  we  had  yet  another  cause  of 
quarrel  with  Great  Britain.  She  claimed  that  in  time  of  war 
she  had  a  right  to  the  services  of  her  sailors ;  that  if  they  were 
on  foreign  ships,  they  must  come  home  and  serve  on  her  war 

i/  vessels.  She  denied  that  a  British  subject  could  become  a 
naturalized  American ;  once  a  British  subject,  always  a  British 
subject,  was  her  doctrine.  She  stopped  our  vessels  at  sea,  exam- 
ined the  crews,  and  seized  or  "  impressed "  any  British  sub- 
jects found  among  them  —  and  many  American  sailors  as  well. 
Against  such  "  impressment "  our  government  set  up  the  claim 
of  "sailors'  rights"  —  denying  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to 

y  search  our  ships  at  sea  or  to  seize  sailors  of  any  nationality 
while  on  board  an  American  vessel. 

1  The  French  decrees  and  British  orders  in  council  were  as  follows  :  (1)  Na- 
poleon began  (1806)  by  issuing  a  decree  closing  the  ports  of  Hamburg  and 
Bremen  (which  he  had  lately  captured)  and  so  cutting  off  British  trade  with 
Germany.  (2)  Great  Britain  retaliated  with  an  order  in  council  (May,  1806), 
blockading  the  coast  of  Europe  from  Brest  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Elbe. 
(3)  Napoleon  retaliated  (November,  1806)  with  the  Berlin  Decree,  declaring 
the  British  Isles  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and  forbidding  English  trade  with  any 
country  under  French  control.  (4)  Great  Britain  issued  another  order  in  coun- 
cil (November,  1807),  commanding  her  naval  officers  to  seize  any  neutral  ves- 
sel going  to  any  closed  port  in  Europe  unless  it  first  touched  at  a  British  port, 
paid  duty,  and  bought  a  license  to  trade.  (5)  Napoleon  thereupon  (December, 
1807)  issued  his  Milan  Decree,  authorizing  the  seizure  of  any  neutral  vessel 
that  had  touched  at  any  British  port  and  taken  out  a  license.  Read  Adams's 
History  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  HI,  Chap.  16  ;  Vol.  IV,  Chaps.  4,  5,  6  ;  McMaster's 
History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  219-223,  249-250,  272-274. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE 


251 


The  Attack  on  the  Chesapeake.  —  Before  1805  Great  Britain 
confined  impressment  to  the  high  seas  and  to  her  own  ports. 
After  1805  she  carried  it  on  also  off  our  coasts  and  in  our 
V  ports.  Finally,  in  1807,  a  British  officer,  hearing  that  some 
British  sailors  were  among  the  crew  of  our  frigate  Chesapeake 
which  was  about  to  sail, 
only  partly  equipped, 
from  the  Washington 
navy  yard,  ordered  the 
Leopard  to  follow  the 
Chesapeake  to  sea  and 
search  her.  This  was 
done,  and  when  Commo- 
dore Barron  refused  to 
have  his  vessel  searched, 
she  was  fired  on  by 
the  Leopard,  boarded, 
searched,  and  one  British 
and  three  American  sail- 
ors were  taken  from  her 
deck.i 

Congress  Retaliates. — 
It  was  now  high  time  for 
us  to  strike  back  at  France  _ 

and  Great  Britain.     We  ^      ""^  ''^ 

had   either    to    fight    for 
"  free    trade    and    sailors'         ^^'  Chesapeake  surrenders  to  the  Leopard. 

rights,"  or  to  abandon  the  sea  and  stop  all  attempts  to  trade 
with  Europe  and  Great  Britain.  Jefferson  chose  the  latter 
course.     Our  retaliation  therefore  consisted  of 

1.  The  Long  Embargo  (1807-9). 

2.  The  Non-intercourse  Act  (1809). 

3.  Macon's  Bill  No.  2  (1810). 

4.  The  Declaration  of  War  (1812). 

iThe  British  sailor  was  hanged  at  Halifax.    The  three  Americans  were 
not  returned  till  1812.    Read  Maclay's  History  of  the  Navy,  Vol.  I,  pp.  305-308. 


252  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

The  Long  Embargo.  —  Late  in  December,  1807,  at  the  request 
of  Jefferson,  Congress  laid  an  embargo  and  cut  off  all  trade 
with  foreign  ports.  ^  The  restriction  was  so  sweeping  and  the 
damage  to  farmers,  planters,  merchants,  shipowners,  and  sailors 
so  great,  that  the  law  was  at  once  evaded.  More  stringent 
laws  were  therefore  enacted,  till  at  last  trade  along  the  coast 
from  port  to  port  was  made  all  but  impossible.  Defiance  to 
the  embargo  laws  became  so  general  ^  that  a  Force  Act  (1809) 
was  passed,  giving  the  President  authority  to  use  the  army  and 
navy  in  enforcing  obedience.  This  was  too  much,  and  such  a 
storm  of  indignation  arose  in  the  Eastern  states  that  Congress 
repealed  the  embargo  laws  (1809)  and  substituted 

The  Non-intercourse  Act.  —  This  forbade  commerce  with 
Great  Britain  and  France,  but  allowed  it  with  such  countries 
as  were  not  under  French  or  British  control.  If  either  power 
would  repeal  its  orders  or  decrees,  the  President  was  to 
announce  this  fact  and  renew  commerce  with  that  power. 

Just  at  this  time  the  second  term  of  Jefferson  ended,^  and 
Madison  became  President  (March  4,  1809).* 

1  The  Federalists  ridiculed  the  embargo  as  the  "terrapin-policy"  ;  that  is, 
the  United  States,  like  a  terrapin  when  struck,  had  pulled  its  head  and  feet 
within  its  shell  instead  of  fighting.  They  reversed  the  letters  so  that  they  read 
"o-grab-me,"  and  wrote  the  syllables  backward  so  as  to  spell  "  go-bar-' em." 

2  Read  McMaster's  i/is^or?/  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  279-338 

3  The  people  would  gladly  have  given  him  a  third  term.  Indeed,  the  legis- 
latures of  eight  states  invited  him  to  be  a  candidate  for  reelection.  In  declin- 
ing he  said,  "If  some  termination  to  the  services  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  be 
not  fixed  by  the  Constitution,  or  supplied  by  practice,  his  office,  nominally  four 
years,  will  in  fact  become  for  life  ;  and  history  shows  how  easily  that  degener- 
ates into  an  inheritance."  The  examples  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  estab- 
lished an  unwritten  law  against  a  third  term  for  any  President. 

*  James  Madison  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1751,  and  educated  partly  at  Prince- 
ton. In  1776  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  convention  to  frame  a  state  con- 
stitution, was  a  member  of  the  first  legislature  under  it,  went  to  Congress  in 
1780-83,  and  then  returned  to  the  state  legislature,  1784-87.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  important  members  of  the  convention  that  framed  the  United  States 
Constitution.  After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  he  led  the  Republican 
party  in  Congress  (1789-97).  He  wrote  the  Virginia  Resolutions  of  1798,  and 
in  1801-9  was  Secretary  of  State  under  Jefferson.  As  the  Republican  candidate 
for  President  in  1808,  he  received  122  electoral  votes  against  47  for  the  Federal- 
ist candidate  Charles  C.  Pinckney.     He  died  in  1836. 


STRUGGLE   FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE  253 

The  Erskine  Agreement  (1809).  —  And  now  the  British  minis- 
ter, Mr.  Erskine,  offered,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  to  lift  the  \ 
orders  in  council  if  the  United  States  would  renew  trade  with 
Great  Britain.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  renewal  of 
trade  proclaimed.  But  when  the  king  heard  of  it,  he  recalled 
Erskine  and  disavowed  the  agreement,  and  Madison  was  forced 
to  declare  trade  with  Great  Britain  again  suspended. 

Macon's  Bill  No.  2.  — Non-intercourse  having  failed.  Congress 
in  1810  tried  a  new  experiment,  and  by  Macon's  Bill  No.  2  (so- 
called  because  it  was  the  second  of  two  bills  introduced  by  Mr. 
Macon)  restored  trade  with  France  and  Great  Britain.  At 
the  same  time  it  provided  that  if  either  power  would  withdraw 
its  decrees  or  orders,  trade  should  be  cut  off  with  the  other 
unless  that  power  also  would  withdraw  them. 

Napoleon  now  (1810)  pretended  to  recall  his  decrees,  but 
Great  Britain  refused  to  withdraw  her  orders  in  council,  where- . 
upon  in  1811  trade  was  again  stopped  with  Great  Britain. 

The  Declaration  of  War.  —  And  now  the  end  had  come. 
We  had  either  to  submit  tamely  or  to  fight.  The  people  de- 
cided to  fight,  and  in  the  elections  of  1810  completely  changed  '. 
the  character  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  large  number 
of  new  members  were  elected,  and  the  control  of  public  affairs 
passed  from  men  of  the  Revolutionary  period  to  a  younger  set 
with  very  different  views.  Among  them  were  two  men  who 
rose  at  once  to  leadership  and  remained  so  for  nearly  forty 
years  to  come.     One  was  Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky;  ^  the  other 

1  Henry  Clay,  the  son  of  a  Baptist  minister,  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1777  in 
a  neighborhood  called  "  the  Slashes."  One  of  his  boyhood  duties  was  to  ride  to 
the  mill  with  a  bag  of  wheat  or  corn.  Thus  he  earned  the  name  of  "the 
Mill  Boy  of  the  Slashes,"  which  in  his  campaigns  for  the  presidency  was 
used  to  get  votes.  His  education  was  received  in  a  log-cabin  schoolhouse.  At 
fourteen  he  was  behind  the  counter  in  a  store  at  Richmond  ;  but  finally  began  to 
read  law,  and  in  1797  moved  to  Kentucky  to  "grow  up  with  the  country." 
There  he  prospered  greatly,  and  in  1803  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature, 
in  1806  and  again  in  1809-10  served  as  a  United  States  senator  to  fill  an 
unexpired  term,  and  in  1811  entered  the  House  of  Representatives.  From  then 
till  his  death,  June  29,  1852,  he  was  one  of  the  most  important  men  in  public  life  ; 
he  was  ten  years  speaker  of  the  House,  four  years  Secretary  of  State,  twenty 
years  a  senator,  and  three  times  a  candidate  for  President.     He  was  a  great 


254 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


was  John  C.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina.  Clay  was  made  speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  under  his  lead  the  House 
at  once  began  preparations  for  war  with  Great  Britain,  which 
was  formally  declared  in  June,  1812.  The  causes  stated  by 
Madison  in  the  proclamation  were  (1)  impressing  our  sailors, 
(2)  sending  ships  to  cruise  off  our  ports  and  search  our  ves- 
sels, (3)  interfering  with  our  trade  by  orders  in  council,  and 
(4)  urging  the  Indians  to  make  war  on  the  Western  settlers. 

The  Battle  of  Tippecanoe.  —  That  the  British  had  been 
tampering  with  the  Indians  was  believed  to  be  proved  by  the 

preparation  of  many  of  the  In- 
dian tribes  for  war.  From  time 
to  time  some  Indian  of  great 
ability  had  arisen  and  attempted 
to  unite  the  tribes  in  a  general 
war  upon  the  whites.  King 
Philip  was  such  a  leader,  and  so 
was  Pontiac,  and  so  at  this  time 
were  the  twin  brothers  Tecumthe 
and  the  Prophet.  The  purpose 
of  Tecumthe  was  to  unite  all  the 
tribes  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  in  a  general  war, 
to  drive  tlie  whites  from  the 
Mississippi  valley.  After  unit- 
ing many  of  the  Northern  tribes 
he  went  south,  leaving  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  in  command. 
But  the  action  of  the  Prophet  so  alarmed  General  Harrison,^ 

leader  and  an  eloquent  speaker.  He  was  called  "the  Great  Pacificator"  and 
"the  Great  Compromiser,"  and  one  of  his  sayings,  "  I  had  rather  be  right  than 
be  President,"  has  become  famous. 

1  William  Henry  Harrison  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1773,  served  in  the 
Indian  campaigns  under  St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  commanded  Fort  Washington 
on  the  site  of  Cincinnati,  was  secretary  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  then 
delegate  to  Congress,  and  did  much  to  secure  the  law  for  the  sale  of  public  land 
on  credit.  He  was  made  governor  of  Indiana  Territory  in  1801,  and  won  great 
fame  as  a  general  in  the  War  of  1812. 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


ooSoicw 


Vicinity  of  the  Tippecanoe  River. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE         255 

governor  of   Indiana  territory,   that   be    marclied   against  the 
Indians  and  beat  tliem  at  the  Tippecanoe'  (1811).  ^ 

Madison  Reelected.  —  As  Madison  was  willing  to  be  a  war 
President  the  Republicans  nominated  him  for  a  second  term  of  ^ 
the  presidency,  with  Elbridge  Gerry  2  for  the  vice  presidency. 
The  Federalists  and  those  opposed  to  war,  the  peace  party, 
nominated  DeWitt  Clinton  for  President.  Madison  and  Gerry 
were  elected.^ 

The  War  opens. —  The  war  which  now  followed,  "Mr. 
Madison's  War  "  as  the  Federalists  called  it,  was  fought  along 
the  edges  of  our  country  and  on  the  sea.  It  may  therefore  be 
considered  under  four  heads  :  — 

1.  War  on  land  along  the  Canadian  frontier. 

2.  War  on  land  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

3.  War  on  land  along  the  Gulf  coast. 

4.  War  on  the  sea. 
Scarcely  had  the  fighting  begun  when  news  arrived  that  Great 
Britain  had  recalled  the  hated  orders  in  council,  but  she 
would  not  give  up  the  right  of  search  and  of  impressment,  so 
the  war  went  on,  as  Madison  believed  that  cause  enough  still 
remained. 


iTecumthe's  efforts  in  the  South  led  to  a  war  with  the  Creeks  in  1813-14. 
These  Indians  began  by  capturing  Fort  Mims  in  what  is  now  southern  Alabama, 
and  killing  many  people  there  ;  but  they  were  soon  subdued  by  General  An- 
drew Jackson.  Read  Edward  Eggleston's  Boxy;  and  Eggleston  and  Seelye's 
Tecumseh  and  the  Shawnee  Prophet. 

2  Gerry  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  one  of  the  delegates  who  refused 
to  sign  the  Constitution  when  it  was  framed  in  1787.  As  a  leading  Republican 
he  was  chosen  by  Adams  to  represent  his  party  on  the  X.  Y.  Z.  Mission.  As 
governor  of  Massachusetts  he  signed  a  bill  rearranging  the  senatorial  districts 
in  such  wise  that  some  towns  having  Federalist  majorities  were  joined  to  others 
having  greater  Republican  majorities,  thus  making  more,  than  a  fair  proportion 
of  the  districts  Republican.  This  political  fraud  is  called  Gerrymandering. 
Gerry  died  November  28,  1814,  the  second  Vice  President  to  die  in  office. 

3  Eighteen  states  cast  electoral  votes  at  this  election  (1812).  The  electors 
were  chosen  by  popular  vote  in  eight  states,  and  by  vote  of  the  legislature  in  ten 
states,  including  Louisiana  (the  former  territory  of  Orleans),  which  was  admit- 
ted into  the  Union  April  8,  1812.  The  admission  of  Louisiana  was  bitterly  op- 
posed by  the  Federalists.  For  their  reasons,  read  a  speech  by  .Tosiah  Quincy  in 
Johnston's  American  Orations,  Vol.  I,  pp.  180-204. 


>} 


256 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


Fighting  on  the  Fron- 
tier, 1812.  — The  hope  of 
the    leaders  of    the    war 

party,  "War  Hawks"  as  the  Federalists  called  them,  was  to 
capture  the  British  provinces  north  of  us  and  make  peace  at 
Halifax.  Three  armies  were  therefore  gathered  along  the 
Canadian  frontier.  One  under  General  Hull  was  to  cross  at 
Detroit  and  march  eastward.  A  second  under  General  Van 
Rensselaer  was  to  cross  the  Niagara  River,  join  the  forces  under 
Hull,  capture  York  (now  Toronto),  and  then  go  on  to  Montreal. 
The  third  under  General  Dearborn  was  to  enter  Canada  from 
northeastern  New  York,  and  meet  the  other  troops  near  Mon- 
treal. The  three  armies  were  then  to  capture  Montreal  and 
Quebec  and  conquer  Canada. 

But  the  plan  failed ;  Hull  was  driven  out  of  Canada,  and 
surrendered  at  Detroit.  Van  Rensselaer  did  not  get  a  footing 
in  Canada,  and  Dearborn  went  no  farther  than  the  northern 
boundary  line  of  New  York. 

Fighting  on  the  Frontier,  1813.  —  The  surrender  of  Hull  filled 
the  people  with  indignation,  and  a  new  army  under  William 


STRUGGLE  FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE  257 

Henry  Harrison  was  sent  across  the  wilds  of  Ohio  in  the  dead 
of  winter  to  recapture  Detroit.  But  the  British  and  Indians 
attacked  and  captured  part  of  the  army  at  Frenchtown  on  the 
Raisin  River,  where  the  Indians  massacred  the  prisoners.  They 
then  attacked  Fort  Meigs  and  Fort  Stephenson,  but  were 
driven  off. 

Battle  of  Lake  Erie.  —  ^leantime  a  young  naval  officer, 
Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  was  hastily  building  at  Erie  (Presque  Isle) 
a  little  fleet  to  attack  the  British,  whose  fleet  on  Lake  Erie  had 
been  built  just  as  hurriedly.  The  fight  took  place  near  the 
west  end  of  the  lake  and  ended  in  the  capture  of  all  the  British 
ships. ^  It  was  then  that  P^rry  sent  off  to  Harrison  those 
familiar  words  "We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours."^ 

Battle  of  the  Thames.  —  This  signal  victory  gave  Perry  com- 
mand of  Lake  Erie  and  enabled  him  to  carry  Harrison's  army 
over  to  Canada,  where,  on  the  Thames  River,  he  beat  the  British 
and  Indians  and  put  them  to  flight.^  By  these  two  victories 
of  Perry  and  Harrison  we  regained  all  that  we  had  lost  by  the 
surrender  of  Hull.  On  the  New  York  frontier  neither  side 
accomplished  anything  decisive  in  1813,  though  the  public 
buildings  at  York  (now  Toronto)  were  destroyed,  and  some 
villages  on  both  sides  of  the  Niagara  River  were  burned. 

Fighting  on  the  Frontier,  1814.  —  Better  officers  were  now 
put  in  command  on  the  New  York  frontier,  and  during  1814 
our  troops  under  Jacob  Brown  and  Winfield  Scott  captured 
Fort  Erie  and  won  the  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Lundys  Lane. 
But  in  the  end  the  British  drove  our  army  out  of  Canada. 

1  Perry's  flagship  was  named  the  Lavjrence,  after  the  gallant  commander 
of  the  Chesapeake,  captured  a  short  while  before  off  Boston.  As  Lawrence, 
mortally  wounded,  was  carried  below,  he  said  to  his  men,  "Don't  give  up  the 
ship."  Perry  put  at  the  masthead  of  the  Lawrence  a  blue  pennant  bearing  the 
words  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship,"  and  fought  two  of  the  largest  vessels  of  the 
enemy  till  every  gun  on  his  engaged  side  was  disabled,  and  but  twenty  men 
out  of  a  hundred  and  three  were  unhurt.  Then  entering  a  boat  with  his 
brother  and  four  seamen,  he  was  rowed  to  the  Niagara,  which  he  brought  into 
the  battle,  and  with  it  broke  the  enemy's  line  and  won. 

2  The  story  of  the  naval  war  is  told  in  Maclay's  History  of  the  Navy,  Part 
Third  ;  and  in  Roosevelt's  Naval  War  of  1812. 

'^  In  this  battle  the  great  Indian  leader  Tecumthe  was  killed. 

McM.  BRIEF — 10 


u 


258 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


Farther  eastward  the  British  gathered  a  fleet  on  Lake 
Champlain  and  sent  an  army  to  attack  Plattsburg,  but  Thomas 
Macdonough  utterly  destroyed  the  fleet  in  Plattsburg  Bay,  and 
the  army  was  repulsed. 

Fighting  along  the  Seaboard. — During  1812  and  1813  the 
British  did  little  more  than  blockade  our  coast  from  Rhode 
Island  to  New  Orleans,  leaving  all  the  east  coast  of  New  Eng- 
land unmolested. 1  But  in  1814  the  entire  coast  was  blockaded, 
the  eastern  part  of  Maine  was  seized  and  occupied,  and  Ston- 
ington  in  Connecticut  was  bombarded. 

Washington  and  Baltimore  Attacked.  —  A  fleet  entered 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  landed  an  army  which  marched  to 
Washington,  burned  the  Capitol,   the   President's  house,   the 

Treasury  Building,  and 
other  public  buildings,^ 
and  with  the  aid  of  the 
fleet  made  a  vain  attack 
on  Baltimore. 

It  was  during  the  bom- 
bardment of  a  fort  near 
Baltimore  that  Francis  Scott  Key,  temporarily  a  prisoner  with 
the  British,  wrote  The  Star-spangled  Banner. 

Fighting  along  the  Gulf  Coast.  —  After  the  repulse  at  Balti- 
more the  British  army  was  carried  to  the  island  of  Jamaica  to 
join  a  great  expedition  fitting  out  for  an  attack  on  New  Orleans. 
It  was  November  before  the  fleet  bearing  the  army  set  sail,  and 
December  when  the  troops  landed  on  the  southeast  coast  of 
Louisiana  and  started  for  the  Mississippi.     On  the  banks  of  that 

1  In  New  England  the  ruin  of  commerce  made  the  war  most  unpopular,  and 
it  was  because  of  this  that  the  British  did  not  at  first  blockade  the  New  England 
coast.  British  goods  came  to  Boston,  Salem,  and  other  ports  in  neutral  ships, 
or  in  British  ships  disguised  as  neutral,  and  great  quantities  of  them  were  carried 
in  four-horse  wagons  to  the  8outh,  whence  raw  cotton  was  brought  back  to 
New  England  to  be  shipped  abroad.  The  Republicans  made  great  fun  of  this 
"  ox-and-horse-marine." 

2  For  a  description  of  the  scenes  in  Washington,  read  McMaster's  History  of 
the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  188-147  ;  or  Adams's  History  of  the  U.  S., 
Vol.  VIII,  pp.  144-152  ;  or  Memoirs  of  Dolly  Madison,  Chap.  8. 


Ruins  of  the  Capitol  after  the  fire. 


STRUGGLE   FOR  COMMERCIAL   INDEPENDENCE         259 

river,  a  few  miles  below  New  Orleans,  they  met  our  forces  under 
General  Andrew  Jacksc^n  drawn  up  behind  a  line  of  rude  in- 
trenchments,  attacked  them  on  the  8th  of  January,  1815,  and 
were  badlv  beaten. 


Battle  of  New  Orleans.     From  an  old  print. 

The  Sea  Fights.  — The  victories  won  by  the  army  were 
indeed  important,  but  those  by  the  navy  were  more  glorious 
still.  In  years  before  the  war  British  captains  laughed  at  our 
little  navy  and  called  our  ships  "  fir-built  things  with  a  bit  of 
striped  bunting  at  their  mastheads."  These  fir-built  things 
now  inflicted  on  the  British  navy  a  series  of  defeats  such  as  it 
had  never  before  suffered  from  any  nation. 

Before  the  end  of  1812  the  frigate  Constitution^  "  Old 
Ironsides"  as  she  is  still  popularly  called, ^  beat  the  Gruer- 
riere  (gar-e-ar')  so  badly  that  she  could   not    be   brought  to 

1  Read  Holmes's  poem  Old  Ironsides. 


260 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


Cutlass. 


port;  the  little  sloop  Wasp  almost  shot  to  pieces 
tlie  British  sloop  Frolic;^  the  frigate  United 
States  brought  the  Macedonian  in  triumph  to  New- 
port (R.  I.);2  and  the  Constitution  made  a  wreck 
of  the  Java. 

In  1813  the 
Hornet.,  Com- 
mander James 
Lawrence,     so 

riddled  the  Brit- 

.  1         T  7->  Naval  cannon  of  1812. 

ish    sloop    Fea- 

coek    that    after    surrendering     she    went    down 

carrying  with  her  nine  of  her  own  crew  and  three 

of  the   Hornet's,     The  brig   Enterprise^  William 

Burrows   in   command,  fought   the    British   brig 

Boxer.,  Captain  Bly  the,  off  Portland  harbor,  Maine. 

Both  commanders  were  killed,  but  the  Boxer  was  taken  and 

carried   into   Portland,   where   Burrows  and    Bly  the,  wrapped 

in  the  flags    they  had   so  well  defended,  were  buried  in  the 

Eastern  Cemetery  which  overlooks  the  bay. 

1  This  battle  was  fought  on  a  clear  moonliglit  night  and  was  full  of  dramatic 
incidents.  A  storm  had  lashed  the  sea  into  fury  and  the  waves  were  running 
mountain  high.  Wave  after  wave  swept  the  deck  of  the  Was^J  and  drenched 
the  sailors.  The  two  sloops  rolled  till  the  muzzles  of  their  guns  dipped  in  the 
sea  ;  but  both  crews  cheered  iieartily  and  fought  on  till,  as  the  Wasp  rubbed 
across  the  bow  of  the  Frolic^  her  jib  boom  came  in  between  the  masts  of  the 
Wasp.  A  boarding  party  then  leaped  upon  her  bowsprit,  and  as  they  ran  down 
the  deck  were  amazed  to  see  nobody  save  the  man  at  the  wheel  and  three 
wounded  officers.  As  the  British  were  not  able  to  lower  their  flag.  Lieutenant 
Biddle  of  the  Wasp  hauled  it  down.  Scarcely  had  this  been  done  when  the 
British  frigate  Poictiers  came  in  sight,  and  chased  and  overhauled  the  Wasp 
and  captured  her. 

'^  Of  all  the  British  frigates  captured  during  the  war,  the  3Iacedonian  was- 
the  only  one  brought  to  port.  The  others  were  shot  to  pieces  and  sank  or  were 
destroyed  soon  after  the  battle.  The  Macedonian  arrived  at  Newport  in  December, 
1812.  When  the  lieutenant  bearing  her  flag  and  dispatches  reached  Washington, 
he  was  informed  that  a  naval  ball  was  being  held  in  honor  of  the  capture  of  the 
Guerriere  and  another  ship,  and  that  their  flags  were  hanging  on  the  wall.  Has- 
tening to  the  hotel,  he  announced  himself  and  was  quickly  escorted  to  the  ball- 
room, where,  with  cheers  and  singing,  the  flag  of  the  Macedonian  was  hung 
beside  those  of  the  other  two  captured  vessels. 


STRUGGLE   FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE         261 

The  Chesapeake  Captured. —  But  we  too  met  with  defeats. 
When  Lawrence  returned  home  with  the  Hornet^  he  was  given 
command  of  the  Chesapeake^  then  fitting  out  in  Boston  harbor, 
and  while  so  engaged  was  challenged  by  the  commander  of  the 
British  frigate  Shannon  to  come  out  and  fight.  He  went,  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  a  second  time  the  Chesapeake  struck 
to  the  British.  As  Lawrence  was  carried  below  he  cried  out, 
"  Don't  give  up  the  ship — keep  her  guns  going — fight  her  till 
she  sinks"  ;  but  the  British  carried  her  by  boarding. 

The  brig  Argits^  while  destroying  merchantmen  off  the  Eng- 
lish coast,  was  taken  by  the  British  brig  Pelican} 

Peace.  —  Quite  early  in  the  war  Russia  tendered  her  services 
as  mediator  and  they  were  accepted  by  us.  Great  Britain  de- 
clined, but  offered  to  treat  directly  if  commissioners  were  sent 
to  some  neutral  port.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Henry  Clay,  Albert 
Gallatin,  James  A.  Bayard,  and  Jonathan  Russell  were  duly 
appointed,  and  late  in  December,  1814,  signed  a  treaty  of  peace  \y 
at  Ghent.  Nothing  was  said  in  it  about  impressment,  search,  or 
orders  in  council,  nor  indeed  about  an}^  of  the  causes  of  the  war. 

Nevertheless  the  gain  was  great.  Our  naval  victories  made 
us  respected  abroad  and  showed  us  to  be  the  equal  of  any 
maritime  power.  At  home,  the  war  aroused  a  national  feel- 
ing, did  much  to  consolidate  the  Union,  and  put  an  end  to  our 
old  colonial  dependence  on  Europe.  Thenceforth  Americans 
looked  westward,  not  eastward. 

The  Hartford  Convention. — News  of  the  treaty  signed  in 
December,  1814,  did  not  reach  our  country  till  February,  1815. ^ 

1  In  October,  1812,  the  frigate  Essex,  Captain  Porter  in  command,  sailed 
from  Delaware  Bay,  cruised  down  the  east  and  up  the  west  coast  of  South 
America,  and  captured  seven  British  vessels.  But  she  was  captured  near  Val- 
paraiso by  the  British  frigates  Cherub  and  Phoebe  in  March,  1814  In  January, 
1815,  the  President,  Commodore  Decatur,  was  captured  off  Long  Island  by  a 
British  squadron  of  four  vessels.  In  February  the  Constitution,  Captain  Stew- 
art, when  near  Madeira,  captured  the  Cyane  and  the  Levant. 

2  Some  idea  of  the  difficulty  of  travel  and  the  transmission  of  news  in  those 
days  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  when  the  agent  bearing  the  treaty  of 
peace  arrived  at  New,  York  February  11,  1815,  an  express  rider  was  sent  post 
haste  to  Boston,  at  a  cost  of  |225. 


262  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

Had  there  been  ocean  steamships  or  cables  in  those  days,  two 
famous  events  in  our  history  would  not  have  happened.  The 
battle  of  New  Orleans  would  not  have  been  fought,  and  the 
report  of  the  Hartford  Convention  would  not  have  been  pub- 
lished. The  Hartford  Convention  was  composed  of  Federalist 
delegates  from  the  New  England  states,^  met  in  December, 
1814,  and  held  its  sessions  in  secret.  But  its  report  proposed 
some  amendments  to  the  United  States  Constitution,  state 
armies  to  defend  New  England,  and  the  retention  of  a  part  of 
the  federal  taxes  to  pay  the  cost.  Congress  was  to  be  asked  to 
agree  to  this,  and  if  it  declined,  the  state  legislatures  were  to 
send  delegates  to  another  convention  to  meet  in  June,  1815. ^ 
When  the  commissioners  to  present  these  demands  reached 
Washington,  peace  had  been  declared,  and  they  went  home, 
followed  by  the  jeers  of  the  nation. 

1  The  states  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  sent  no  delegates  to  this  con- 
vention ;  but  three  delegates  were  appointed  by  certain  counties  in  those  states. 
When  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  chose  delegates,  a  Federalist  newspaper 
published  in  Boston  welcomed  them  in  an  article  headed  "  Second  and  Third 
"Pillars  of  a  New  Federal  Edifice  Reared."  Despite  the  action  of  the  Hartford 
Convention,  the  fact  remains  that  Massachusetts  contributed  more  than  her 
proportionate  share  of  money  and  troops  for  the  war. 

2  The  report  is  printed  in  MacDonald's  Select  Documents. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  war  with  Tripoli  (1801-5)  ended  in  victory  for  our  navy. 

2.  The  renewal  of  war  between  France  and  Great  Britain  involved  us 
in  more  serious  trouble. 

3.  When  France  attacked  British  commerce  by  decrees,  Great  Britain 
replied  with  orders  in  council  (1806-7).  In  these  paper  blockades  we  were 
the  chief  sufferers. 

4.  Great  Britain  claimed  a  right  to  take  her  subjects  off  American 
ships,  and  while  impressing  many  British  sailors  into  her  navy,  she  im- 
pressed many  Americans  also. 

5.  She  sent  vessels  of  war  to  our  coast  to  search  our  ships,  and  in  1807 
even  seized  sailors  on  board  an  American  ship  of  war,  the  Chesapeake. 

6.  Congress  retaliated  with  several  measures  cutting  off  trade  with 
France  and  Great  Britain ;  these  failing,  war  on  Great  Britain  was  declared 
in  1812. 


STRUGGLE   FOR  COMMERCIAL  INDEPENDENCE 


263 


7.  War  on  land  was  begun  by  attempts  to  invade  Canada  from  Detroit, 
Niagara,  and  northeastern  New  York.  These  attempts  tailed,  and  Detroit 
was  captured  by  the  British. 

8.  In  1813  Perry  won  a  great  naval  victory  on  I^ake  Erie;  and  the 
American  soldiers,  after  a  reverse  at  Frenchtown,  invaded  Canada  and  won 
the  battle  of  the  Thames. 

9.  In  1814  the  Americans  won  the  battles  of  Chij^pewa  and  Lundys 
Lane,  but  were  later  driven  from  Canada.  A  British  invasion  of  New  York 
met  disaster  at  Plattsburg  Bay. 

10.  Along  the  seaboard  the  British  blockaded  the  entire  coast,  seized  the 
eastern  part  of  Maine,  took  Washington  and  burned  the  public  buildings, 
and  attacked  Baltimore. 

11.  Later  New  Orleatis  was  attacked,  but  in  1815  Jackson  won  a  signal 
victory  and  drove  the  British  from  Louisiana. 

12.  On  the  sea  our  vessels  won  many  ship  duels. 

13.  Peace  was  made  in  1814,  just  as  the  New  England  Federalists  were 
holding  their  Hartford  Convention.  The  war  resulted  in  strengthening  the 
Union  and  making  it  more  respected. 


Flintlock  musket,  such  as  was  used  in  the  War  of  1812. 


Modern  military  carbine. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

RISE   OF  THE  WEST 

Trade,  Commerce,  and  the  Fisheries.  —  The  treaty  of  1814 
did  not  end  our  troubles  with  Great  Britain.  Our  ships  were 
still  shut  out  of  her  West  Indian  ports.  The  fort  at  Astoria, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  had  been  seized  during 
the  war  and  for  a  time  was  not  returned  as  the  treaty  required. 
The  authorities  in  Nova  Scotia  claimed  that  we  no  longer  had 
a  right  to  fish  in  British  waters,  and  seized  our  fishing  vessels 
or  drove  them  from  the  fishing  grounds.  We  had  no  trade 
treaty  with  Great  Britain.  In  1815,  therefore,  a  convention 
was  made  regulating  trade  with  Great  Britain  and  her  East 
Indian  colonies,  but  not  with  her  West  Indies;^  in  1817,  a  very 
important  agreement  limited  the  navies  on  the  Great  Lakes ;2 
and  in  1818  a  convention  was  made  defending  our  fishing  rights 
in  British  waters.^ 

Banks  and  the  Currency.  —  But  there  were  also  domestic 
affairs  which  required  attention.      When  the    charter   of   the 

1  A  serious  quarrel  over  the  West  Indian  trade  now  arose  and  was  not 
settled  till  1830.  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  V, 
pp.  483-487. 

2  The  agreement  of  1817  provided  that  each  power  might  have  one  armed 
vessel  on  Lake  Ontario,  two  on  the  upper  lakes,  and  one  on  Lake  Cliamplain. 
Each  vessel  was  to  have  but  one  eighteen-pound  cannon.  All  other  armed 
vessels  were  to  be  dismantled  and  no  others  were  to  be  built  or  armed.  In 
Europe  such  a  water  boundary  between  two  powers  would  have  been  guarded 
by  strong  jfleets  and  forts  and  many  armed  men. 

^  The  fishery  treaty  provides  (1)  that  our  citizens  ma,j  forever  catch  and  dry 
fish  on  certain  parts  of  the  coasts  of  Newfoundland  and  of  Labrador ;  (2)  that 
they  may  not  catch  fish  within  three  miles  of  any  other  of  the  coasts  of  the 
British  dominions  in  America;  (3)  that  our  fishermen  may  enter  the  harbors  on 
these  other  coasts  for  shelter,  or  to  obtain  water,  or  wood,  or  to  repair  damages, 
"and  for  no  other  purpose  whatever." 

264 


RISE   OF  THE  WEST 


265 


The  first  Bank  of  the  United  States. 


Bank  of  the  United  States  (p.  224)  expired  in  1811,  it  was  not 
renewed,  for  the  party  in  power  denied  that  Congress  had  au- 
thority to  charter  a  bank.  A  host  of  banks  chartered  by  the 
states  thereupon  sprang 
up,  in  hope  of  getting 
some  of  the  business 
formerly  done  by  the 
national  bank  and  its 
branches. 

In  three  years'  time 
one  hundred  and  twenty 
new  state  banks  were 
created.  Each  issued 
bank  notes  with  a  prom- 
ise to  exchange  them  for 
specie  (gold  or  silver  coin)  on  demand.  In  1814,  however, 
nearly  all  the  banks  outside  of  New  England  "suspended 
specie  payment";  that  is,  refused  to  redeem  their  notes  in 
specie.  Persons  having  gold  and  silver  money  then  kept  it, 
and  the  only  money  left  in  circulation  was  the  bank  notes  — 
which,  a  few  miles  away  from  the  place  of  issue,  would  not  pass 
at  their  face  value. ^ 

Business  and  travel  were  seriously  interfered  with,  and  in 
order  to  provide  the  people  with  some  kind  of  money  which 
would  pass  at  the  same  value  everywhere.  Congress  in  1816 
chartered  a  second  Bank  of  the  United  States,^  very  much  like 
the  first  one,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years. 

Manufactures  and  the  Tariff.  —  Before  the  embargo  days, 
trade  and  commerce  were  so  profitable,  because  of  the  war  in 
Europe,  that  manufactures  were  neglected.     Almost  all  manu- 


1  As  to  the  straits  to  which  people  were  put  for  small  change,  read  McMas- 
ter's  History  nf  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  297-298. 

2  This  bank  had  branches  in  the  various  states,  and  specie  could  be  had  for 
its  notes  at  any  branch.  Hence  its  notes  passed  at  their  face  value  over  all  the 
country,  and  became,  like  specie,  of  the  same  value  everywhere.  Authority  to 
charter  the  bank  was  found  in  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  giving  Congress 
power  to  "regulate  the  currency." 


266  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

factured  articles  —  cotton  and  woolen  goods,  china,  glass,  edge 
tools,  and  what  not  —  were  imported,  from  Great  Britain  chiefly. 

But  the  moment  our  foreign  trade  was  cut  off  by  the 
embargo,  manufactures  sprang  up,  and  money  hitherto  put 
into  ships  and  commerce  was  invested  in  mills  and  factories. 
Societies  for  the  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures  were 
started  everywhere.  To  wear  American-made  clothes,  walk 
in  American-made  shoes,  write  on  American-made  paper,  and 
use  American-made  furniture  were  acts  of  patriotism  which 
the  people  publicly  pledged  themselves  to  perform.  Thus 
encouraged,  manufactories  so  throve  and  flourished  that  by 
1810  the  value  of  goods  made  in  our  country  each  year  was 
$173,000,000. 

When  trade  was  resumed  with  Great  Britain  after  the  war, 
her  goods  were  sent  over  in  immense  quantities.  This  hurt 
our  manufacturers,  and  therefore  Congress  in  1816  laid  a  tariff 
or  tax  on  imported  manufactures,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
the  price  of  foreign  goods  high  and  thus  protecting  home  manu- 
factures. 

Prosperity  of  the  Country.  —  Despite  the  injury  done  by 
British  orders,  French  decrees,  the  embargo,  non-intercourse, 
and  the  war,  the  country  grew  more  prosperous  year  by  year. 
Cities  were  growing,  new  towns  were  being  planted,  rivers 
were  being  bridged,  colleges,^  academies,  schools,  were  spring- 
ing up,  several  thousand  miles  of  turnpike  had  been  built, 
and  over  these  good  roads  better  stagecoaches  drawn  by  better 
horses  carried  the  mail  and  travelers  in  quicker  time  than  ever 
before. 

Routes  to  the  West.  —  Goods  for  Pittsburg  and  the  West 
could  now  leave  Philadelphia  every  day  in  huge  canvas-covered 
wagons  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  and  were  only  twenty 
days  on  the  road.  The  carrying  trade  in  this  way  was  very 
great.  More  than  twelve  thousand  wagons  came  to  Pittsburg 
each  year,  bringing  goods  worth  several  millions  of   dollars. 

1  Thirty-nine  of  our  colleges,  theological  seminaries,  and  universities  were 
founded  between  1788  and  1820. 


RISE  OF  THE  WEST 


267 


From  New  York  wares  and  merchandise  for  the  West  went  in 
sloops  up  the  Hudson  to  Albany,  were  wagoned  to  the  falls  of 
the  Mohawk,  where  they  were  put  into  "  Schenectady  boats," 


jj    T    A     R     I     0^ 


/.  1  ^1 


V  R.Hl^M ...  ^^  ^^__  Z'^'^y^'Coj^^ 


ClAtM    T^ 


.i;0^^  ERIK  ('AVAL     /n   I      £     ^^^  ^ 

|t^-*^    /         CONSTRUCTED   181"    l  ^,        \^  ) 


f-     ■* 


vOc, 


1--/^.-/:- 
V 1 


Routes  from  Philadelphia  and  New  York  to  the  West. 

which  were  pushed  by  poles  up  the  Mohawk  to  Utica.  Thence 
they  went  by  canal  and  river  to  Oswego  on  Lake  Ontario,  in 
sloops  to  Lewiston  on  the  Niagara  River,  by  wagon  to  Buffalo, 
by  sloop  to  Westfield  on  Lake  Erie,  by  wagon  to  Chautauqua 
Lake,  and  thence  by  boat  down  the  lake  and  the  Allegheny 
River  to  Pittsburg. 

The  Steamboat.  —  The  growth  of  the  country  and  the  in- 
crease in  travel  now  made  the  steamboat  possible.     Before  1807 


2G8 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


all  attempts  to  use  such  boats  had  failed.^  But  when  Fulton 
in  that  year  ran  the  Clermont  from  New  York  to  Albany 
and  back,  practical  steam  navigation  began.     In  1808  a  line  of 


Fainting  by  E.  L.  Henry. 


Copyright  by  C.  Klackner. 


An  early  ferryboat. 


steamboats  ran  up  and  down  the  Hudson.  In  1809  there  was 
one  on  the  Delaware,  another  on  the  Raritan,  and  a  third  on 
Lake  Champlain.  In  1811  a  steamboat  went  from  Pittsburg 
to  New  Orleans,  and  in  1812  there  were  steam  ferryboats 
between  what  is  now  Jersey  City  and  New  York,  and  between 
Philadelphia  and  Camden. ^ 

By  the  use  of  the  steamboat  and  better  roads  it  was  possible 

1  For  Rumsey  and  Fitch,  see  p.  239.  William  Longstreet  in  1790  tried  a  small 
model  steamboat  on  the  Savannah  River;  and  in  1794  Elijah  Ormsbee  at  Provi- 
dence and  Samuel  Morey  on  Long  Island  Sound,  in  1796  John  Fitch  on  a  pond  in 
New  York  city,  in  1797  Morey  on  the  Delaware,  in  1802  Oliver  Evans  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  in  1804  and  1806  John  Stevens  at  Hoboken,  demonstrated  that 
boats  could  be  moved  by  steam.  But  none  had  made  the  steamboat  a  practical 
success. 

2  The  state  of  New  York  gave  Fulton  and  his  partner,  Livingston,  the  sole 
right  to  use  steamboats  on  the  waters  of  the  state.  This  monopoly  was  evaded  by 
using  teamboats,  on  which  the  machinery  that  turned  the  paddle  wheel  was 
moved  by  six  or  eight  horses  hitched  to  a  crank  and  walking  round  and  round 
in  a  circle  on  the  deck.  Teamboats  were  used  chiefly  as  ferryboats.  Read 
McMzj&iQx's,  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  397-407. 


RISE   OF  THE   WEST  269 

in  1820  to  go  from  New  Yoik  to  Pliiladelpliin  between  snnrise 
and  sunset  in  summer,  and  from  New  York  to  Boston  in  forty- 
eight  hours,  and  from  Boston  to  Washington  in  less  than  live 
days. 

The  Rush  to  the  West.  —  After  the  peace  in  1815  came  a 
period  of  hard  times.  Great  Britain  kept  our  ships  out  of 
her  ports  in  the  West  Indies.  France,  Spain,  and  HoUand 
did  their  own  trading  with  their  colonies.  Demands  for  our 
products  fell  off,  trade  and  commerce  declined,  thousands  of 
people  were  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  another  wave  of 
emigration  started  westward.  Nothing  like  it  had  ever  before 
been  known.  People  went  by  tens  of  thousands,  building  new 
towns  and  villages,  clearing  the  forests,  and  turning  the  prairies 
into  farms  and  gardens.  Some  went  in  wagons,  some  on 
horseback  ;  great  numbers  even  went  on  foot,  pushing  their 
children  and  household  goods  in  handcarts,  in  wheelbarrows,  in 
little  box  carts  on  four  small  wheels  made  of  plank. ^ 

Once  on  the  frontier,  the  pioneer,  the  "mover,"  the  ''new- 
comer," would  secure  his  plot  of  land,  cut  down  a  few  trees, 
and  build  a  half-faced  camp,  —  a  shed  with  a  roof  of  sai)ling 
and  bark,  and  one  side  open, —  and  in  this  he  would  live  till 
the  log  cabin  was  finished. 

The  Log  Cabin.  —  To  build  a  log  cabin  the  settler  would 
fell  trees  of  the  proper  size,  cut  them  into  logs,  and  with  his 
ax  notch  them  half  through  at  the  ends.  Laid  one  on  another 
these  logs  formed  the  four  sides  of  the  cabin.     Openings  were 

1  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  381-394. 
All  the  great  higliways  to  the  West  were  crowded  with  bands  of  emigrants.  In 
nine  days  200  wagons  bound  for  the  West  passed  through  one  New  York  town. 
At  Easton,  in  Pennsylvania,  on  a  favorite  route  from  New  England  (map,  p.  194), 
511  wagons  accompanied  by  3066  persons  passed  in  a  month.  A  tollgate  keeper 
on  another  route  reported  2000  families  as  having  passed  during  nine  months. 
From  Alabama,  whither  people  were  hurrying  to  settle  on  the  cotton  lands,  came 
reports  of  a  migration  quite  as  large.  When  the  census  of  1820  was  taken,  the 
returns  showed  that  there  were  but  75  more  people  in  Delaware  in  1820  than 
there  were  in  1810.  In  the  city  of  Charleston  there  were  24,711  people  in  1810 
and  24,780  in  1820.  In  many  states  along  the  seaboard  the  rate  of  increase  of 
population  was  less  during  the  census  period  1810-20  than  it  had  been  before, 
because  of  the  great  numbers  who  had  left  for  the  West. 


270 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


left  for  a  door,  one  window,  and  a  huge  fireplace ;  the  cracks 
between  the  logs  were  filled  with  mud ;  the  roof  was  of  hewn 
boards,  and  the  chimney  of  logs  smeared  on 
the  inside  with  clay  and  lined  at  the  bottom 
with  stones.  Greased  paper  did  duty  for 
glass  in  the  window.  The  door  swung  on 
wooden  hinges  and  was  fastened  with  a  wooden 
latch  on  the  inside,  which  was  raised  from 
the  outside  by  a  leather  string  passed  through 
a  hole  in  the  door.  Some  cabins  had  no  floor 
but  the  earth;  in  others  the  floor  was  of 
puncheons,  or  planks  split  and  hewn  from 
trunks  of  trees  and  laid  with  the  round  side 
down.i 

Pioneer  Life. — If  the  farm  were  wooded, 
tlie  first  labor  of  the  settler  was  to  grub  up 
the  bushes,  cut  down  the  smaller  trees,  and 
kill  the  larger  ones  by  cutting  a  girdle  around  each  near  tlie 
roots.  When  the  trees  were  felled,  the  neighbors  would  come 
and  help  roll  the  logs  into  great  piles  for  burning.  From 
the  ashes  the  settler  made  potash ;  for  many  years  potash  was 
one  of  the  important  exports  of  the  country. 

In  the  land  thus  cleared  and  laid  open  to  the  sun  the  pio- 
neer planted  his  corn,  flax,  wheat,  and  vegetables.  The  corn  he 
shelled  on  a  gritter,  and  ground  in  a  handmill,    or  pounded 


Corn-husk  mop. 


1  If  the  newcomer  chose  some  settlement  for  his  home,  the  neighbors  would 
gather  when  the  logs  were  cut,  hold  a  "  raising,"  and  build  his  cabin  in  the 
course  of  one  day.  Tables,  chairs,  and  other  furniture  were  generally  made  by 
the  settler  with  his  own  hands.  Brooms  and  brushes  were  of  corn  husks,  and 
many  of  his  utensils  were  cut  from  the  trunks  of  trees.  "  I  know  of  no  scene 
more  primitive,"  said  a  Kentucky  pioneer,  "than  such  a  cabin  hearth  as  that 
of  my  mother's.  In  the  morning  a  buckeye  backlog,  a  hickory  forestick,  rest- 
ing on  stones,  with  a  johnny  cake  on  a  clean  ash  board,  set  before  the  fire  to 
bake ;  a  frying  pan  with  its  long  handle  resting  on  a  splint-bottom  chair,  and 
a  teakettle  swung  from  a  log  pole,  with  myself  setting  the  table,  or  turning  the 
meat.  Then  came  the  blowing  of  the  conch-shell  for  father  in  the  field,  the 
howling  of  old  Lion,  the  gathering  around  the  table,  the  blessing,  the  dull 
clatter  of  pewter  spoons  on  pewter  dishes,  and  the  talk  about  the  crops  and 
stock." 


RISE  OF  THE  WEST 


271 


in  a  wooden  mortar  with  a  wooden  pestle,  or  carried  on  horse- 
back to  some  mill  perhaps  fifteen  miles  away. 

Cooking  stoves  were  not  used,  (jame  was  roasted  by  hang- 
ing it  by  a  leather  string  be- 
fore an  open  fire.  All  bak- 
ing was  done  in  a  Dutch 
oven  on  the  hearth,  or  in  an 
out  oven  built,  as  its  name 
implies,  out  of  doors. ^ 

Deerskin  in  the  early 
days,  and  later  tow  linen, 
woolens,  jeans,  and  linseys, 
were  the  chief  materials  for 
clothing  till  store  goods  be- 
came common. 2  The  amuse- 
ments of  the  pioneers  were 
like  those  of  colonial  days* — 
shooting  matches,  bear  hunts, 
races,   militia  musters,   rais- 


Breaking  flax. 


ings,  log  rollings,  weddings,  corn  huskings,  and  quilting  parties. 

Five  New  States.  —  The  first  effect  of  the  emigration  to  the 
West  was  such  an  increase  of  population  there  that  five  new 
states  were  admitted  in  five  years.  They  were  Indiana  (1816), 
Mississippi  (1817),  Illinois  (1818),  Alabama  (1819),  Missouri 
(1821).  As  Louisiana  (1812)  and  Maine  (1820)  had  also  been 
admitted  by  1821,  tlie  Union  then  included  twenty-four  states 
(map,  p.  279). 

Power  of  the  West.  —  A  second  result  of  this  building  of  the 
West  was  an  increase  in  its  political  importance.     The  West 


1  For  an  account  of  the  social  conditions  in  1820,  read  McMaster's  History 
of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  Chap,  xxxvii ;  also  Eggleston's  Circuit 
Eider,  Cooper's  Prairie,  and  Becollections  of  Life  in  Ohio,  by  W.  C.  Howells. 

2  A  story  is  told  of  an  early  settler  who  was  elected  to  the  territorial  legis- 
lature of  Illinois.  Till  then  he  had  always  worn  buckskin  clothes,  but  thinking 
them  unbecoming  a  lawmaker,  he  and  his  sons  gathered  hazelnuts  and  bar- 
tered them  at  the  crossroads  store  for  a  few  yards  of  blue  strouding,  out  of  which 
the  women  of  the  settlement  made  him  a  coat  and  pantaloons. 


272 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


in  1815  sent  to  Congress  8  senators  and  28  members  of  the 
House ;  after  1822  it  sent  18  senators  out  of  48,  and  47  members 
of  the  House  out  of  213. 

Trade  of  the  West.  —  A  third  result  was  a  struggle  for  the 
trade  of  the  West.     Favored  by  the  river  system,  the  farmers  of 


Trading  with  a  river  merchant. 

the  West  were  able  to  float  their  produce,  on  raft  and  flat- 
boat,  to  New  Orleans.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  steam- 
boat, navigation  up  the  Mississippi  was  all  but  impossible. 
Flatboats,  rafts,  barges,  broadhorns,  with  their  contents,  were 
therefore  sold  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  money  brought  back  to 
Pittsburg  or  Wheeling  and  there  used  to  buy  the  manufactures 
sent  from  the  Eastern  states.  But  now  a  score  of  steamboats 
went  down  and  up  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  stopping  at 
Cincinnati,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Natchez,  and  a  host  of  smaller 
towns,  loaded  with  goods  obtained  at  Pittsburg  and  New 
Orleans. 1     Commercially   the   West   was   independent   of   the 

1  On  the  Ohio  River  floated  odd  craft  of  many  sorts.  There  were  timber 
rafts  from  the  mountairi  streams  ;  pirogues  built  of  trunks  of  trees  ;  broadhorns, 
huge  pointed  and  covered  iiulks  carrying  50  tons  of  freight  and  floating  down- 


RISE  OF  THE  WEST  273 

East.  The  Western  trade  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Baltimore  was  seriously  threatened. 

The  Erie  Canal.  —  So  valuable  was  this  trade,  and  so  impor- 
tant to  the  East,  that  New  York  in  1817  began  the  construction 
of  the  Erie  Canal  from  Albany  to  Buffalo,  and  finished  it  in 
1825.1  The  result,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  later  chapter,  was  far- 
reaching. 

Slavery. — A  fourth  result  of  the  rush  to  the  West  was  the 
rise  of  the  question  of  slavery  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

Before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  as  we  have  seen, 
slavery  was  forbidden  or  was  in  course  of  abolition  in  the  five 
New  England  states,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  Northwest 
Territory.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  gradual 
abolition  laws  had  been  adopted  in  New  York  (1799)  and  in 
New  Jersey  (1804). ^  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  Missis- 
stream  with  the  current  and  upstream  by  means  of  poles,  sails,  oars,  or  ropes  ; 
keel  boats  for  upstream  work,  with  long,  narrow,  pointed  bow  and  stern,  roofed, 
manned  with  a  crew  of  ten  men,  and  propelled  with  setting  poles  ;  flatboats  which 
went  downstream  with  the  pioneer  never  to  come  back -i- flat-bottomed,  box- 
shaped  craft  manned  by  a  crew  of  six,  kept  in  the  current  by  oars  30  feet  long 
called  "  sweeps"  and  a  steering  oar  50  feet  long  at  the  stern.  Those  intended 
to  go  down  the  Mississippi  were  strongly  built,  roofed  over,  and  known  as 
"  Orleans  boats."  "  Kentucky  flatboats"  for  use  on  the  Ohio  were  half  roofed 
and  slighter.  Mingled  with  these  were  arks,  galleys,  rafts,  and  shanty  boats  of 
every  sort,  and  floating  shops  carrying  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  to  every 
farmhouse  and  settlement  along  the  river  bank.  Now  it  would  be  a  floating  lot- 
tery office,  where  tickets  were  sold  for  pork,  grain,  or  produce  ;  now  a  tinner's 
establishment,  where  tinware  was  sold  or  mended  ;  now  a  smithy,  where  horses 
and  oxen  were  shod  and  wagons  mended  ;  now  a  factory  for  the  manufacture  of 
axes,  scythes,  and  edge  tools  ;  now  a  dry-goods  shop  fitted  up  just  as  were  such 
shops  in  the  villages,  and  filled  with  all  sorts  of  goods  and  wares  needed  by  the 
settlers. 

1  This  canal  was  originally  a  ditch  4  feet  deep,  40  feet  wide,  and  3G3  miles 
long.  The  chief  promoter  was  De  Witt  Clinton.  The  opponents  of  the  canal , 
therefore  called  it  in  derision  "Clinton's  big  ditch,"  and  declared  that  it  could 
never  be  made  a  success.  But  Clinton  and  his  friends  carried  the  canal  to  com- 
pletion, and  in  1825  a  fleet  of  canal  boats  left  Buffalo,  went  through  the  canal, 
down  the  Hudson,  and  out  into  New  York  Bay.  There  fresh  water  brought  from 
Lake  Erie  in  a  keg  was  poured  into  the  salt  water  of  the  Atlantic. 

2  It  was  once  hoped  that  Southern  states  also  would  in  time  abolish  slavery  ; 
but  as  more  and  more  land  was  devoted  to  cotton  raising  in  the  South,  the 
demand  for  slave  labor  there  increased.  The  South  came  to  regard  slavery  as 
necessary  for  her  prosperity,  and  to  desire  its  extension  to  more  territory. 

McM.    BRIEF 17 


274  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

sippi,  and  Alabama  came  into  the  Union  as  slave-holding 
states  ;  and  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  (besides  Vermont)  as 
free  states.  So  in  1819  the  dividing  line  between  the  eleven 
free  and  the  eleven  slave  states  was  the  south  boundary  line 
of  Pennsylvania  (p.  81)  and  the  Ohio  River. 

Slavery  beyond  the  Mississippi.  —  By  1819  so  many  people 
had  crossed  the  Mississippi  and  settled  on  the  west  bank  and  up 
the  Missouri  that  Congress  was  asked  to  make  a  new  territory 
to  be  called  Arkansas  and  a  new  state  to  be  named  Missouri. 

Whether  the  new  state  was  to  be  slave  or  free  was  not  stated, 
but  the  Missourians  owned  slaves  and  a  settlement  of  this  matter 
was  important  for  two  reasons  :  (1)  there  were  then  eleven  slave 
and  eleven  free  states,  and  the  admission  of  Missouri  would  up- 
set this  balance  in  the  Senate ;  (2)  her  entrance  into  the  Union 
would  probably  settle  the  policy  as  to  slavery  in  the  remainder 
of  the  great  Louisiana  Purchase.  The  South  therefore  insisted 
that  Missouri  should  be  a  slave-holding  state,  and  the  Senate 
voted  to  admit  her  as  such.  The  North  insisted  that  slavery 
should  be  abolished  in  Missouri,  and  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives voted  to  admit  her  as  a  free  state.  As  neither  would 
yield,  the  question  went  over  to  the  next  session  of  Congress. 

Maine.  —  By  that  time  Maine,  which  belonged  to  Massa- 
clmsetts,  had  obtained  leave  to  frame  a  constitution,  and 
applied  for  admission  as  a  free  state.  This  afforded  a  chance 
to  preserve  the  balance  of  states  in  the  Senate,  and  Congress 
accordingly  passed  at  the  same  time  two  bills,  one  to  admit 
Maine  as  a  free  state,  and  one  to  authorize  Missouri  to  make 
a  proslavery  constitution. 

The  Missouri  Compromise,  1820.  —  The  second  of  these  bills 
embodied  the  Missouri  Compromise,  or  Compromise  of  1820, 
which  provided  that  in  all  the  territory  purchased  from  France 
in  1803  and  lying  north  of  the  parallel  36°  30'  there  never 
should  be  slavery,  except  in  Missouri  (map  p.  279). ^ 

1  Meantime  Arkansas  (1819)  had  been  organized  as  a  slave-holding  territory. 
As  Missouri  had  to  make  a  state  constitution  and  submit  it  to  Congress  she 
did  not  enter  the  Union  till  1821.     The  Compromise  line  36°  30'  was  part  of  the 


RISE  OF  THE  WEST 


275 


This  Compromise  left  a  great  region  from  which  free  states 
might  be  made  in  future,  and  very  little  for  slave  states.  We 
shall  see  the  consequences  of  this  by  and  by. 

Exploration  of  the  West.  —  West  of  Missouri  the  country  was 
still  a  wilderness  overrun  by  Indians,  and  by  buffalo  and  other 
wild  animals.     Many  believed   it  to  be  almost  uninhabitable. 


Buffalo  running  away  from  a  prairie  fire. 

Pike,  who  (1806-7)  marched  across  the  plains  from  St.  Louis 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Pikes  Peak  and  on  to  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  Long,  who  (1820)  followed  Pike, 
brought  back  dismal  accounts  of  the  country.  Pike  reported 
that  the  banks  of  the  Kansas,  the  Platte,  and  the  Arkansas  riv- 
ers might  "  admit  of  a  limited  population,"  but  not  the  plains. 
Long  said  the  country  west  of  Council  Bluffs  "  is  almost  wholly 
unfit  for  cultivation,  and  of  course  uninhabitable  by  people  de- 
pending on  agriculture,"  and  that  beyond  the  Rockies  it  was 
"  destined  to  be  tlie  abode  of  perfect  desolation." 

The  Great  American  Desert.  —  This  started  the  belief  that 
in  the  West  was  a  great  desert,  and  for  many  years  geographers 

south  boundary  of  Missouri  and  extended  to  the  100th  meridian.  Missouri  did 
not  have  the  present  northwestern  boundary  till  1836  ;  compare  maps  on  pp.  279 
and  331.  On  the  Compromise  read  the  speech  of  Senator  Rufus  King,  in  John- 
ston's American  Orations,  Vol.  II,  pp.  33-02  ;  and  that  of  Senator  Pinckney, 
pp.  63-101. 


276  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

indicated  such  a  desert  on  their  maps.  It  covered  most  of  what  is 
now  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  Oklahoma,  and  parts  of  Texas,  Colo- 
rado, and  South  Dakota.  One  geographer  (1835)  declared,  "  a 
large  part  maybe  likened  to  the  Great  Sahara  or  African  Desert." 

The  Northwestern  Boundary.  —  When  Louisiana  was  pur- 
chased in  1803  no  boundary  was  given  it  on  the  north  or  west. 

By  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1818,  the  49th  parallel 
was  made  our  northern  boundary  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.^ 

The  Oregon  Country.  —  The  country  west  of  the  sources  of 
the  Missouri  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  region  drained 
by  the  Columbia,  or  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  the  Oregon 
River,  was  claimed  by  both  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  As  neither  would  yield,  it  was  agreed  that  the  Oregon 
country  should  be  held  jointly  for  a  time.^ 

The  Spanish  Boundary.  —  South  of  Oregon  and  west  of  the 
mountains  lay  the  possessions  of  Spain,  with  which  country  in 
1819  we  made  a  treaty,  fixing  the  western  limits  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase.  We  began  by  claiming  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
asking  for  Florida.  We  ended  by  accepting  the  line  shown  on 
the  map,  p.  278,  and  buying  Florida.^ 

1  By  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1783  a  line  was  to  be  drawn  from  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods  diie  west  to  the  Mississippi.  This  was  impossible,  but  the 
difficulty  was  ended  by  the  treaty  of  1818.  From  the  northwesternmost  point 
of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  a  line  (as  the  treaty  provides)  is  drawn  due  south  to 
the  49th  parallel.     This  makes  a  little  knob  on  our  boundary. 

2  We  claimed  it  because  in  1792  Captain  Gray,  in  the  ship  Columbia,  dis- 
covered the  river,  entered,  and  named  it  after  his  ship ;  because  in  1805-6 
Lewis  and  Clark  explored  both  its  main  branches  and  spent  the  winter  near  its 
mouth  ;  and  because  in  1811  an  American  fur-trading  post,  Astoria,  was  built  on 
the  banks  of  the  Columbia  near  its  mouth.  Great  Britain  claimed  a  part  of  it 
because  of  explorations  under  Vancouver  (1792),  and  occupation  of  various  posts 
by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  At  first  Oregon  was  the  country  drained  by 
the  Columbia  River.  Through  our  treaty  with  Spain,  in  1819,  part  of  the  42d 
parallel  was  made  the  southern  boundary.  In  1824,  by  treaty  with  Russia,  the 
country  which  then  owned  Alaska,  54°  40'  became  the  northern  boundary. 
The  Rocky  Mountains  were  understood  to  be  the  eastern  limit. 

3  What  is  called  the  purchase  of  Florida  consisted  in  releasing  Spain  from  all 
liability  for  damages  of  many  sorts  inflicted  on  our  citizens  from  1793  to  the  date 
of  the  treaty,  and  paying  them  ourselves;  the  sum  was  not  to  exceed  $5,000,000. 


RISE  OF  THE   WEST 


277 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  treaty  of  peace  in  1814  left  several  issues  unsettled;  it  was  there- 
fore followed  by  a  trade  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  an  agreement  to  limit 
naval  power  on  tlie  northern  lakes,  and  (1818)  a  treaty  about  fisheries  in 
British  waters. 

2.  The  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the  state  banks  during  the 
war  caused  such  disorder  in  the  currency  that  a  national  bank  was  chartered 
to  regulate  it. 

3.  The  embargo,  by  cutting  off  importation  of  British  goods,  encouraged 
home  manufactures.  Heavy  importations  after  the  war  injured  home  manu- 
factures, and  to  help  them  Congress  enacted  a  protective  tariff  law. 

4.  Despite  commercial  troubles  and  the  war,  the  people  were  prosperous. 
New  towns  were  founded,  travel  was  improved,  the  steamboat  was  intro- 
duced, and  the  West  grew  rapidly. 

5.  After  1815  a  great  wave  of  population  poured  over  the  West. 

6.  Seven  new  states  were  admitted  between  1812  and  1821. 

7.  A  struggle  for  the  trade  of  the  growing  West  led  to  the  building  of 
the  Erie  Canal. 

8.  A  struggle  over  slavery  led  to  the  INIissouri  Compromise  (1820). 

9.  By  treaties  with  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  boundaries  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  were  established,  Florida  was  purchased,  and  the  Oregon  country 
was  held  jointly  with  Great  Britain. 


An  old  stagecoach 


Copyi-iy/U,  1905,  by  C  Klucbier. 


278 


CHAPTER   XXII 
THE  ERA  OF   GOOD  FEELING 

The  Party  Issues.  —  The  issues  which  divided  the  Federal- 
ists and  the  Republicans  from  1793  to  1815  arose  chiefly  from 
our  foreign  relations.  Neutrality,  French  decrees,  British 
orders  in  council,  search,  impressment,  the  embargo,  non-inter- 
course, the  war,  were  the  matters  that  concerned  the  people. 
Soon  after  1815  all  this  changed ;  Napoleon  was  a  prisoner  at 
St.  Helena,  Europe  was  at  peace,  and  domestic  issues  began  to 
be  more  important. 

The  Era  of  Good  Feeling.  —  The  election  of  1816,  however, 
was  decided  chiefly  on  the  issues  of  the  war.  James  Monroe,^ 
the  Republican  candidate  for  President,  was  elected  by  a  very 
large  majority  over  Rufus  King.  During  Monroe's  term  domes- 
tic issues  were  growing  up,  but  had  not  become  national.  They 
were  rather  sectional.  Party  feeling  subsided,  and  this  was  so 
noticeable  that  his  terna  was  called  "  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling." 
In  this  condition  of  affairs  the  Federalist  party  died  out,  and 
when  Monroe  was  renominated  in  1820,  no  competitor  appeared.^ 
The  Federalists  presented  no  candidate. 

1  James  Monroe  was  a  Virginian,  born  in  1758;  he  entered  William  and 
Mary  College,  served  in  the  Continental  army,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly,  of  the  Continental  Congress  for  three  years,  and  of  the  Virginia  con- 
vention that  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution  in  1788.  He  strongly  opposed 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  As  United  States  senator  (1790-94),  he  op- 
posed Washington's  administration  ;  but  was  sent  as  minister  to  France  (1794-96). 
In  1799-1802  Monroe  was  governor  of  Virginia,  and  then  was  sent  to  France  to 
aid  Livingston  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  ;  was  minister  to  Great  Britain 
1804-6,  and  in  1811-17  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  1814-15  acted  also  as 
Secretary  of   War.     In   1817-25  he  was  President.     He  died  in  1831. 

2  Monroe  carried  every  state  in  the  Union  and  was  entitled  to  every  electoral 
vote.  But  one  elector  did  not  vote  for  him,  in  order  that  Washington  might 
still  have  the  honor  of  being  the  only  Tresident  unanimously  elected. 

280 


THE  ERA  OF   GOOD   FEELING  281 

Political  Events.  —  The  chief  political  events  of  Monroe's 
first  term  (1817-21),  as  we  have  seen,  were  the  admission  of 
several  new  states,  the  Compromise  of  1820,  and  the  treaties  of 
1818  and  1819,  with  Great  Britain  and  Spain.  The  chief  politi- 
cal events  of  his  second  term  (1821-25)  were  :  a  dispute  over 
the  disposition  of  public  lands  in  the  new  states  ;  ^  a  dispute 
over  the  power  of  Congress  to  aid  tlie  building  of  roads  and 
canals,  called  ''  internal  improvements  "  ;  the  recognition  of  the 
independence  of  South  American  colonies  of  ^ Spain  ;  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  ;  the  passage  of  a  new 
tariff  act ;  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  South  American  Republics.  — In  1808  Napoleon  invaded 
Spain,  drove  out  the  king,  and  placed  his  brother  Joseph  Bona- 
parte on  the  throne.  Thereupon  many  of  the  Spanish  colonies 
in  America  rebelled  and  organized  themselves  as  republics. 
When  Napoleon  was  sent  to  St.  Helena,  the  Spanish  king  (who 
was  restored  in  181-4)  brought  back  most  of  the  colonies  to 
their  allegiance.  La  Plata,  however,  rebelled,  and  was  quickly 
followed  by  the  others.  In  1822  President  Monroe  recognized 
the  independence  of  La  Plata  (Argentina),  Chile,'Peru,  Colom- 
bia, Mexico,  andj  Central  America. 

The  Holy  Alliance.  —  The  king  of  Spain,  unable  to  conquer 
the  revolted  colonies,  applied  for  aid  to  the  Holy , Alliance  which 
was  formed  by  Russia,  Prussia,  Austria,  and  France  for  the  pur- 
pose of  maintaining  monarchical  government  in  Europe.  For  a 
while  these  powers  did  nothing,  but  in  1823  they  called  a  con- 
ference to  consider  the  question  of  restoring  to  Spain  her  South 
American  colonies.  But  the  South  American  republics  had 
won  their  independence  from  Spain,  and  had  been  recognized  by 
us  as  sovereign  powers  ;  what  right  had  other  nations  to  com- 
bine and  force  them  back  again  to  the  condition  of  colonies? 
In  his  annual  message  (December,  1823)  the  President  there- 

1  In  the  new  Western  states  were  great  tracts  which  belonged  to  the  United 
States,  and  wliich  the  Western  states  now  asked  should  be  given  to  them,  or  at 
least  be  sold  to  them  for  a  few  cents  an  acre.  The  East  opposed  this,  and 
asked  for  gifts  of  Western  land  which  they  might  sell  so  as  to  use  the  money  to 
build  roads  and  canals  and  establish  free  schools. 


282 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


5^ 


An  old-time  sofa. 


t/ 


fore  took  occasion  to  make  certain  announcements  which  have 
ever  since  been  called  the  Monroe  Doctrine. ^ 

The   Monroe  Doctrine.  —  Referring  to   the  conduct  of  the 

Holy  Alliance,  he  said  — 

1.  That  the  United 
States  would  not  meddle 
in  the  political  affairs  of 
Europe. 

'  2.  That  European  gov- 
ernments must  not  extend 
their  system  to  any  part  of  North  and  South  America,  nor  in 
any  way  seek  to  control  the  destiny  of  any  of  the  nations  of 
this  hemisphere. 

As  Russia  had  been  attempting  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  coast 
of  California,  whicli  was  then  a  part  of  Mexico,  the  President 
announced  (as  another  part  of  the  doctrine)  — 

/'  3.    That  the  American  continents  were  no  longer  open  for 
colonization  by  European  powers. 

The  Tariff  of  1824.— Failure  of  the  tariff  of  1816  to  shut 
'  out  British  manufactures,  the  hard  times  of  1819,  and  the  gen- 
eral ruin  of  business  led  to 
a  demand  for  another  tariff 
in  1820.  To  this  the  cotton 
states  were  bitterly  opposed. 
In  the  South  there  were  no 
manufacturing  centers,  no 
great  manufacturing  indus- 
tries of  any  sort.  The  plant- 
ers sold  their  cotton  to 
the  North  and  (chiefly)  to 
Great  Britain,  from  which  they  bought  almost  all  kinds  of  man- 
ufactured goods  they  used.  Naturally,  they  wanted  low  duties 
on  their  imported  articles ;  just  enough  tax  to  support  the 
government  and  no  more. 

In  the  North,  especially  in  towns  now  almost  wholly  given 
1  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  28-54. 


An  old-time  piano. 


THE  ERA  OF  GOOD  FEELING  283 

up  to  manufactures,  as  Lynn  and  Lowell  and  Fall  River  and 
Providence  and  Cohoes  and  Paterson  and  others  ;  in  regions 
where  the  farmers  were  raising  sheep  for  wool  ;  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  iron  was  mined  ;  and  in  Kentucky,  where  the 
hemp  fields  were,  people  wanted  domestic  manufactures  pro- 
tected by  a  high  tariff. 

The  struggle  was  a  long  one.  At  each  session  of  Congress 
from  1820  to  1824  the  question  came  up.  Finally  in  1824  a 
new  tariff  for  protection  was  enacted  despite  the  efforts  of  the 
South  and  part  of  New  England. 

Breaking  up  of  the  Republican  Party.  —  Though  the  three 
questions  of  internal  improvements,  the  tariff,  and  the  use 
of  the  public  lands  led  to  bitter  disputes,  they  did  less  to 
break  up  the  party  harmony  than  the  action  of  the  leaders. 
After  the  second  election  of  Monroe  the  question  of  his  suc- 
cessor at  once  arose.  The  people  of  Tennessee  nominated 
Andrew  Jackson ;  South  Carolina  named  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Calhoun  ;  Kentucky  wanted  Henry  Clay,  who  had  long 
been  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  the  New 
England  states  were  for  John  Quincy  Adams,  the  Secretary 
of  State.  Finally  the  usual  party  caucus  of  Republican  mem- 
bers of  Congress  nominated  Crawford  of  Georgia,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury. 

The  Election  of  1824-25. — The  withdrawal  of  Calhoun 
from  the  race  for  the  presidency  left  in  it  Adams,  Clay,  Craw- 
ford, and  Jackson,  representing  the  four  sections  of  the  country 
—  Northeast,  Northwest,  Southeast,  Southwest.  As  no  one  had 
a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes,  it  became  the  duty  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  to  elect  one  from  the  three  who  had 
received  the  highest  votes. ^  They  were  Jackson,  Adams,  and 
Crawford.    The  House  chose  Adams,^  who  was  duly  inaugurated 

1  Jackson  had  99  votes,  Adams  84,  Crawford  41,  and  Clay  37.  The  Consti- 
tution (Article  XII  of  the  amendments)  provides  that  if  no -person  have  a 
majority  of  the  electoral  votes,  "  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest 
numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  " 

2  By  a  vote  of  13  states,  against  7  for  Jackson,  and  4  for  Crawford. 


284  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

in  1825.^  The  electoral  college  had  elected  Calhoun  Vice 
President. 2 

The  Charge  of  Corruption.  —  The  friends  of  Jackson  were 
bitterly  disappointed  by  his  defeat.  He  was  "  the  Man  of  the 
People,"  had  received  the  highest  number  of  electoral  votes 
(though  not  a  majority),  and  ought,  they  said,  to  have  been 
elected  by  the  House.  That  he  had  not  been  elected  was 
due,  they  claimed,  to  a  bargain  :  Clay  was  to  urge  his  friends 
to  vote  for  Adams  ;  if  elected,  Adams  was  to  make  Clay 
Secretary  of  State.  No  such  bargain  was  ever  made.  But 
after  Adams  became  President  he  appointed  Clay  Secretary  of 
State,  and  then  the  supporters  of  Jackson  were  convinced  that 
the  charge  was  true. 

Rise  of  New  Parties.  —  The  legislature  of  Tennessee, 
therefore,  at  once  renominated  Jackson,  and  about  him  gathered 
all  who,  for  any  reason,  disliked  Adams  and  Clay,  all  who  were 
opposed  to  the  tariff  and  internal  improvements,  or  wanted  "  a 
man  of  the  people  "  for  President.  They  were  called  Jackson 
men,  or  Democratic  Republicans. 

Adams,  it  was  well  known,  would  also  be  renominated,  as 

1  John  Quincy  Adams  was  born  atBraintree,  Massachusetts,  in  1767,  went 
with  his  father  John  Adams  to  France,  and  spent  several  years  abroad  ;  then 
graduated  from  Harvard,  studied  law,  and  was  appointed  by  Washington  min- 
ister to  the  Netherlands  and  then  to  Portugal,  and  in  1797  to  Prussia.  He 
was  a  senator  from  Massachusetts  in  1803-8.  In  1809  Madison  sent  him  as  min- 
ister to  Russia,  where  he  was  when  the  war  opened  in  1812.  Of  the  five  com- 
missioners at  Ghent  he  was  the  ablest  and  the  most  conspicuous.  In  1815 
Madison  appointed  him  minister  to  Great  Britain,  and  in  1817  he  came  home  to 
be  Secretary  of  State  under  Monroe.  In  1831  he  became  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  continued  as  such  till  stricken  in  the  House  with  paral- 
ysis in  February,  1848. 

2  John  Caldwell  CalhoUn  was  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1782,  entered  Yale 
College  in  1802,  studied  law,  and  became  a  lawyer  at  Abbeville,  South  Carolina, 
in  1807.  In*1808  he  went  to  the  legislature,  and  in  1811  entered  Congress,  and 
was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign  relations.  As  such  he 
wrote  the  report  and  resolutions  in  favor  of  war  with  Great  Britain.  At  this 
period  of  his  career  he  favored  a  liberal  construction  of  the  Constitution,  and 
supported  the  tariff  of  1816,  the  charter  of  the  Second  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
and  internal  improvements.  He  was  Secretary  of  War  in  Monroe's  Cabinet,  and 
was  Vice  President  from  1825  until  1832,  when  he  resigned  and  entered  the 
Senate,  where  he  remained  most  of  the  time  till  his  death  in  1850. 


Ci^  ^  fi;a^'^L*^^^:^^rf^ 


Letter  written  by  Jackson,  then  a  senator. 

285 


i 


286  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

the  candidate  of  the  supporters  of  the  tariff  and  internal  im- 
provements. They  were  the  Adams  men,  or  National  Republi- 
cans. Thus  was  the  once  harmonious  Republican  party  broken 
into  fragments,  out  of  which  grew  two  distinctly  new  parties. 

The  Tariff  of  1828.  —  The  act  of  1824  not  proving  satisfac- 
tory to  the  growers  and  manufacturers  of  wool,  a  new  tariff  law 
was  enacted  in  1828.  So  many  and  so  high  were  the  duties 
laid  that  the  opponents  of  protection  named  the  law  the  Tariff 
of  Abominations.  To  the  cotton  states  it  was  particularly  hate- 
ful, and  in  memorials,  resolutions,  and  protests  they  declared 
that  a  tariff  for  protection  was  unconstitutional,  unjust,  and 
oppressive.  They  made  threats  of  ceasing  to  trade  with  the 
tariff  states,  and  talked  of  njaJJ^fj[inga_jor_rQfu^ 
law,  and  even  of  leaving  the  Union. 

The  Election  of  1828.  — Great  as  was  the  excitement  in  the 
South  over  this  new  tariff  law,  it  produced  little  effect  in  the 
struggle  for  the  presidency.  The  campaign  had  really  been 
going  on  for  three  years  past  and  would  have  ended  in  the  elec- 
tion of  Jackson  had  the  tariff  never  existed.  "  Old  Hickory," 
the  "  Hero  of  New  Orleans,"  the  "  Man  of  the  People,"  was 
more  than  ever  the  favorite  of  the  hour,  and  though  his  party 
was  anti-tariff  he  carried  states  where  the  voters  were  deeply 
interested  in  the  protection  of  manufactures.  Indeed,  he  received 
more  than  twice  the  number  of  electoral  votes  cast  for  Adams. ^ 

1  This  election  is  noteworthy  also  as  the  first  in  which  nearly  all  the  states 
chose  electors  by  popular  vote.  Only  two  of  the  twenty-four  states  made  the 
choice  by  vote  of  the  legislature  ;  in  the  others  the  popular  vote  for  Jackson  elect- 
ors numbered  647,276  and  that  for  Adams  electors  508,064.  A  good  book  on 
presidential  elections  is  A  History  of  the  Presidency,  by  Edward  Stan  wood. 

SUMMARY  ' 

1.  After  the  election  of  Monroe  (1816)  the  Federalist  party  died  out, 
thg  old  party  issues  disappeared,  and  Monroe's  term  is  known  as  the  Era 
of  Good  Feeling. 

2.  The  South  American  colonies  of  Spain,  having  rebelled,  formed  re- 
publics, and  were  recognized  by  the  United  States.  To  prevent  interfer- 
ence with  them  by  European  powers,  especially  by  the  Holy  Alliance, 
Monroe  announced  the  doctrine  now  known  by  his  name  (1823). 


THE  ERA  OF  GOOD   FEELING 


287 


3.  The  growth  of  the  West  and  the  rise  of  new  states  brought  up  the 
question  of  internal  improvements  at  national  expense. 

4.  The  growth  of  manufactures  brought  up  the  question  of  more  pro- 
tection and  a  new  tariff.  In  1824  a  new  tariff  law  was  enacted,  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  of  the  South,  which  had  no  manufactures  and  imported 
largely  from  Great  Britain. 

5.  These  issues,  which  were  largely  sectional,  and  the  action  of  certain 
leaders,  split  the  Republican  party,  and  led  to  the  nomination  of  four  presi- 
dential candidates  in  1824. 

6.  The  electors  failed  to  choose  a  President,  but  did  elect  a  Vice  Presi- 
dent.    Adams  was  then  elected  President  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 

7.  A  new  tariff  was  enacted  in  1828,  though  the  South  opposed  it  even 
more  strongly  than  the  tariff  of  1824. 

8.  In  1828  Jackson,  one  of  the  candidates  defeated  in  1824,  was  elected 
President. 


A  Conestoga  wagon,  such  as  was  in  use  about  1825. 


CHAPTER   XXTII 

POLITICS   FROM   1829   TO   1841 

In  many  respects  the  election  of  Jackson  ^  was  an  event  of  as 
much  political  importance  as  was  the  election  of  Jefferson. 
Men  hailed  it  as  another  great  uprising  of  the  people,  as  another 
triumph  of  democracy.  They  acted  as  if  the  country  had  been 
delivered  from  impending  evil,  and  hurried  by  thousands  to 
Washington  to  see  the  hero  inaugurated  and  the  era  of  prom- 
ised reform  opened. ^ 

1  Andrew  Jackson  was  born  in  Waxhaw,  North  Carolina,  1767,  but  always 
considered  himself  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  for  the  place  of  his  birth  was  on  the 
border  of  the  two  states.  During  the  Revolution  a  party  of  British  came  to  the 
settlement  where  Jackson  lived.  An  officer  ordered  the  boy  to  clean  his  boots, 
and  when  Jackson  refused,  struck  him  with  a  sword,  inflicting  wounds  on  his 
head  and  arm.  Andrew  and  his  brothers  were  taken  prisoners  to  Camden.  His 
mother  obtained  his  release  and  shortly  after  died  while  on  her  way  to  nurse  the 
sick  prisoners  in  Charleston.  Left  an  orphan,  Jackson  worked  at  saddlery,  taught 
school,  studied  law,  and  went  to  Tennessee  in  1788;  was  appointed  a  district 
attorney,  in  1796  was  the  first  representative  to  Congress  from  the  state  of 
Tennessee,  and  in  1797  became  one  of  its  senators.  In  1798-1804  he  was  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Tennessee  supreme  court.  His  military  career  began  in 
1813-14,  when  he  beat  the  Indians  in  the  Creek  War.  In  1814  he  was  made 
a  major  general,  in  1815  won  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  in  1818  beat 
the  Seminoles  in  Florida.  He  was  the  first  governor  of  the  territory  of  Florida. 
He  died  in  June,  1845.  Read  the  account  of  Jackson's  action  in  the  Seminole 
War  and  the  execution  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  in  McMaster's  History  of 
the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  439-456. 

2  The  inauguration  was  of  the  simplest  kind.  Uncovered,  on  foot,  escorted 
by  the  committee  in  charge,  and  surrounded  on  both  sides  by  gigs,  wood  wagons, 
hacks  full  of  women  and  children,  and  followed  by  thousands  of  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  Jackson  walked  from  his  hotel  to  the  Capitol  and  on  the 
east  portico  took  the  oath  of  office.  A  wild  rush  was  then  made  by  the  people 
to  shake  his  hand.  With  difficulty  the  President  reached  a  horse  and  started 
for  the  White  House,  "pursued  by  a  motley  concourse  of  people,  riding, 
running  helter-skelter,  striving  who  should  first  gain  admittance."  So  great 
was  the  crowd  at  the  White  House  that  Jackson  was  pushed  through  the  drawing 
room  and  would  have  been  crushed  against  the  wall  had  not  his  friends  linked 
arms  and  made  a  barrier  about  him.  The  windows  had  to  be  opened  to  enable 
the  crowd  to  leave  the  room. 

288 


POLITICS  FROM    1829  TO    1841 


289 


The  New  Party.  —  Jackson  treated  the  public  offices  as  the 
"  spoils  of  victory,"  and  within  a  few  weeks  hundreds  of  post- 
masters, collectors  of  revenue,  and  other  officeholders  were  turned 
out,  and  their  places  given 
to  active  workers  for  Jack- 
son. This  "  spoils  system  " 
was  new  in  national  politics 
and  created  immense  excite- 
ment. But  it  was  nothing 
more  than  an  attempt  to 
build  up  a  new  national 
party  in  the  same  way  that 
parties  had  already  been 
built  up  in  some  of  the 
states.^ 

Jackson  as  President.  — 

In  many  respects  Jackson's 

administration  was  the  most 

exciting  the  country  had  yet 

experienced.      Never   since 

.,        T  »  ,-»       •  1      ,    T   1  General  Andrew  Jackson. 

the  days  of  President  John 

Adams  had  party  feeling  run  so  high.  The  vigorous  person- 
ality of  the  President,  his  intense  sincerity,  his  determination 
to  do,  at  all  hazards,  just  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  made 
him  devoted  friends  and  bitter  enemies  and  led  to  his  ad- 
ministration being  often  called  the  Reign  of  Andrew  Jackson. 
The  questions  with  which  he  had  to  deal  were  of  serious  impor- 
tance, and  on  the  solution  of  some  of  them  hung  the  safety  of 
the  republic. 

The  South  Carolina  Doctrine.  —  Such  a  one  was  the  old  issue 


1  Editors  of  newspapers  that  supported  Jackson  were  given  office  or  were 
rewarded  with  pubHc  printing,  and  a  party  press  devoted  to  the  President  was 
thus  established.  To  keep  both  workers  and  newspapers  posted  as  to  the  policy 
of  the  administration,  there  was  set  up  at  Washington  a  partisan  journal  for  which 
all  officeholders  were  expected  to  subscribe.  The  President,  ignoring  his  secre- 
taries, turned  for  advice  to  a  few  party  leaders  whom  the  Adams  men  nicknamed 
the  "  Kitchen  Cabinet." 


290  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

of  the  tariff.  The  view  of  the  South  as  set  forth  by  the  leaders, 
especially  by  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina,  was  that  the  state 
ought  to  nullify  the  Tariff  Act  of  1828  because  it  was  uncon- 
stitutional.^ Daniel  Webster  attacked  this  South  Carolina 
doctrine  and  (1830)  argued  the  issue  with  Senator  Hayne  of 
South  Carolina.  The  speeches  of  the  two  men  in  the  Senate, 
the  debate  which  followed,  and  the  importance  of  the  issue, 
make  the  occasion  a  famous  one  in  our  history.  That  South 
Carolina  would  go  so  far  as  actually  to  carry  out  -the  doctrine 
and  nullify  the  tariff  did  not  seem  likely.  But  the  seriousness 
of  South  Carolina  alarmed  the  friends  of  the  tariff,  and  in  1832 
Congress  amended  the  act  of  1828  and  reduced  the  duties. 

South  Carolina  nullifies  the  Tariff.  —  This  did  not  satisfy 
South  Carolina.  The  new  tariff  still  protected  manufactures, 
and  it  was  protection  that  she  opposed  ;  and  in  November,  1832, 
she  adopted  the  Ordinance  of  Nullification,  which  forbade  any 
of  her  citizens  to  pay  the  tariff  duties  after  February  1,  1833. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1832,  the  great  question 
was  what  to  do  with  South  Carolina.  Jackson  was  determined 
the  law  should  be  obeyed,^  sent  vessels  to  Charleston  harbor, 
and  asked  for  a  Force  Act  to  enable  him  to  collect  the  revenue 
by  force  if  necessary.^ 

The  Great  Debate.  —  In  the  course  of  the  debate  on  the 
Force  Act,  Calhoun  (who  had  resigned  the  vice  presidency  and 

1  Calhoun  maintained  (1)  that  the  Constitution  is  a  compact  or  contract  be- 
tween the  states ;  (2)  that  Congress  can  only  exercise  such  power  as  this  com- 
pact gives,  it;  (3)  that  when  Congress  assumes  power  not  given  it,  and  enacts  a 
law  it  has  no  authority  to  enact,  any  state  may  veto,  or  nullify,  that  law,  that  is, 
declare  it  not  a  law  within  her  boundary  ;  (4)  that  Congress  has  no  authority 
to  lay  a  tariff  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  United  States  ; 
(5)  that  the  tariff  to  protect  manufactures  was  therefore  an  exercise  of  power 
not  granted  by  the  Constitution.  This  view  of  the  Constitution  was  held  by  the 
Southern  states  generally.  But  as  the  two  most  ardent  expounders  of  it  were 
Hayne  and  Calhoun,  both  of  South  Carolina,  it  was  called  the  South  Carolina 
doctrine. 

2  On  the  anniversary  of  Jefferson's  birthday,  April  13,  1830,  a  great  dinner 
was  given  in  Washington  at  which  nullification  speeches  were  made  in  response 
to  toasts.  Jackson  was  present,  and  when  called  on  for  a  toast  offered  this  : 
*'  Our  Federal  Union,  it  must  be  preserved." 

8  Read  McMaster's  ^is^ory  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  153-163. 


POLITICS   FROM    1829  TO    1841 


291 


had  been  elected  a  senator  from  South  Carolina)  explained  and 
defended  nullification  and  contended  that  it  was  a  peaceable 
and  lawful  remedy  and  a  proper  exercise  of  state  rights.  Web- 
ster ^  denied  that  the 
Constitution  was  a  mere 
compact,  declared  that 
nullification  and  seces- 
sion were  rebellion,  and 
ui)lield  the  authority  and 
sovereignty  of  the  Union. ^ 
The  Compromise  of 
1833.  —  Clay  meantime 
came  forward  with  a  com- 
promise. He  proposed 
that  the  tariff  of  1832 
should  be  reduced  grad- 
ually till  1842,  when  all 
duties  should  be  twenty 
per  cent  on  the  value  of 
the     articles     imported. 


Birthplace  of  Daniel  Webster. 


As  such  duties  would  not  be  protective,  Calhoun  and  the  other 
Southern   members   accepted   the   plan,  and  the    Compromise 

1  Daniel  Webster  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1782,  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth, studied  law,  wrote  some  pamphlets,  and  made  several  Fourth  of  July- 
orations,  praising  the  Federal  Constitution  and  denouncing  the  embargo.  In 
1813  he  entered  Congress  as  a  representative  from  New  Hampshire,  but  lost  his 
seat  by  removing  to  Boston  in  1816.  In  1823  Webster  returned  to  Congress  as  a 
representative  from  one  of  the  Massachusetts  districts,  rose  at  once  to  a  place 
of  leadership,  and  in  1827  entered  the  United  States  Senate.  By  this  time  he 
was  famous  as  an  orator.  Passages  from  his  speeches  were  recited  by  school- 
boys, and  such  phrases  as  "  Our  country,  our  whole  country,  and  nothing  but  our 
country,"  "Thank  God,  I,  I  also,  am  an  American,"  "Independence  7iow, 
and  Independence  forever ! "  passed  into  everyday  speech.  In  his  second 
reply  to  Hayne  of  South  Carolina,  defending  and  explaining  the  Constitution 
(p.  290),  he  closed  with  the  words  "Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and 
inseparable."  In  1836  he  received  the  electoral  vote  of  Massachusetts  for  the 
presidency.  He  was  a  senator  for  many  years,  was  twice  Secretary  of  State, 
and  died  in  October,  1852. 

2  Read  the  speeches  of  Calhoun  in  Johnston's  American  Orations,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  303-319. 


292  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

Tariff  was  passed  in  March,  1833. ^  To  satisfy  the  North 
and  uphold  the  authority  of  the  government,  the  Force  Act 
also  was  passed.  But  as  South  Carolina  repealed  the  Ordi- 
nance of  Nullification  there  was  never  any  need  to  use 
force. 

First  National  Nominating  Conventions.  —  In  the  midst  of 
the  excitement  over  the  tariff,  came  the  election  of  1832.  Since 
1824,  when  the  Republican  party  was  breaking  up,  presidential 
candidates  had  been  nominated  by  state  legislatures  and  cau- 
cuses of  members  of  state  legislatures.  But  in  1831  the  Antima- 
sons  2  held  a  convention  at  Baltimore,  nominated  William  Wirt 
and  Amos  Ellmaker  for  President  and  Vice  President,  and  so 
introduced  the  national  nominating  convention. 

The  example  thus  set  was  quickly  followed:  in  December, 
1831,  a  national  convention  of  National  Republicans  nominated 
Clay  (then  a  senator)  for  President,  and  John  Sergeant  for  Vice 
President.  In  May,  1832,  a  national  convention  of  Jackson 
men,  or  Democrats  as  some  called  them,  nominated  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  Vice  President.  There  was  no  need  to  renominate 
Jackson,  for  in  a  letter  to  some  friends  he  had  already  declared 
himself  a  candidate,  and  many  state  legislatures  had  made  the 
nomination.  He  was  still  the  idol  of  the  people  and  was  re- 
elected by  a  greater  majority  than  in  1828. 

The  Bank  Attacked.  —  One  of  the  issues  in  the  campaign  was 
the  recharter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  whose  charter 
was  to  expire  in  1836.     Jackson  always  hated  that  institution, 

1  Shortly  before  February  1,  1833,  the  day  on  which  nullification  was  to 
go  into  effect,  the  South  Carolina  leaders  met  and  suspended  the  Ordinance 
of  Nullification  till  March  3,  the  last  day  of  the  session  of  Congress.  This,  of 
course,  they  had  no  power  to  do.  The  state  authorities  did  not  think  it  wise  to 
put  the  ordinance  in  force  till  they  saw  what  Congress  would  do  with  the 
tariff. 

2  In  1826  a  Mason  named  William  Morgan,  living  at  Batavia,  in  western 
New  York,  threatened  to  reveal  the  secrets  of  masonry.  But  about  the  time 
his  book  was  to  appear,  he  suddenly  disappeared.  The  Masons  were  accused  of 
having  killed  him,  and  the  people  of  western  New  York  denounced  them  at 
public  meetings  as  members  of  a  society  dangerous  to  the  state.  A  party 
pledged  to  exclude  Masons  from  public  office  was  quickly  formed  and  soon 
spread  into  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  England,  where  it  became  very  strong. 


POLITICS  FROM    1829  TO    1841  293 

had  attacked  it  in  his  annual  messages,  and  had  vetoed  (1832) 
a  recharter  bill  passed  (for  political  effect)  b}^  Clay  and  his 
friends  in  Congress. 

Removal  of  the  Deposits.  —  Jackson  therefore  looked  upon 
his  reelection  as  a  popular  approval  of  his  treatment  of  the  bank. 
He  continued  to  attack  it,  and  in  1833  requested  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  William  Duane,  to  remove  the  deposits  of 
government  money  from  the  bank  and  its  branches.  When 
Duane  refused,  Jackson  turned  him  out  of  office  and  put  in 
Roger  B.  Taney,  who  made  the  removal.^ 

The  Senate  passed  resolutions,  moved  by  Clay,  censuring  the 
President  for  this  action ;  but  Senator  Benton  of  Missouri 
said  that  he  would  not  rest  till  the  censure  was  expunged. 
Expunging  now  became  a  party  question ;  state  after  state  in- 
structed its  senators  to  vote  for  it,  and  finally  in  1837  the 
Senate  ordered  a  black  line  to  be  drawn  around  the  resolutions 
and  the  words  "  Expunged  by  order  of  the  Senate  "  to  be  writ- 
ten across  them. 

Rise  of  the  Whig  Party.  —  The  hatred  which  the  National 
Republicans  felt  for  Jackson  was  intense.  They  accused  him 
of  trying  to  set  up  a  despotic  government,  and,  asserting  that 
they  were  contending  against  the  same  kind  of  tyranny  our 
forefathers  fought  against  in  the  War  of  Independence,  they 
called  themselves  Whigs.  In  the  state  elections  of  1834  the 
new  name  came  into  general  use,  and  thenceforth  for  many 
years  there  was  a  national  Whig  party. 

The  Antislavery  Movement.  —  The  Missouri  Compromise 
was  supposed  to  have  settled  the  issue  of  slavery.  But  its 
effect  was  just  the  reverse.  Antislavery  agitators  were  aroused. 
The  antislavery  newspapers  grew  more  numerous  and  aggres- 
sive.    New  antislavery  societies  were  formed  and  old  ones  were 

1  This  so-called  removal  consisted  in  depositing  the  revenue,  as  it  was  col- 
lected, in  a  few  state  banks,  the  "pet  banks," — instead  of  in  the  United 
States  Bank  as  before,  —  and  gradually  drawing  out  the  money  on  deposit  with 
the  United  States  Bank.  Read  an  account  of  the  interviews  of  Jackson  with 
committees  from  public  meetings  in  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the 
U.S.,  Vol. VI,  pp.  200-204. 

MCM.   BRIEF  —  18 


294 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


revived  and  became  aggressive,  and  in  1833  delegates  from 
many  of  them  met  at  Philadelphia  and  formed  the  American 
Antislavery  Society.  ^ 

Antislavery  Documents.  —  The  field  of  work  for  the  anti- 
slavery  people  was    naturally  the  South.       That   section  was 

flooded  with  newspapers, 
pamphlets,  .pictures,  and 
handbills  intended  to  stir 
up  sentiment  for  instant 
abolition  of  slavery  and 
liberation  of  the  slaves. 
Against  this  the  South 
protested,  declared  such 
documents  were  likely  to 
cause  slaves  to  run  away  or 
rise  in  insurrection,  and 
called  on  the  North  to  sup- 
press them. 

Proslavery  Mobs.  —  To 
stop  their  circulation  by 
legal  means  was  not  possible;  so  attempts  were  made  to  do 
it  by  illegal  means.  In  many  Northern  cities,  as  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  Boston,  Utica,  and  elsewhere,  mobs  broke  up  the 
antislavery  meetings.  In  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the 
postmaster  seized  some  antislavery  documents  and  the  people 
burned  them.  At  Cincinnati  the  newspaper  office  of  James 
G.  Birney  was  twice  sacked  and  his  presses  destroyed  (1836). 
Another  at  Alton,  Illinois,  was  four  times  attacked,  and  the 
owner,  Elijah  Lovejoy,  was  at  last  killed  by  the  mob  while 
protecting  his  press. 

The  Right  of  Petition.  —  Not  content  with  this,  the  pro- 
slavery  people  attempted  to  pass  a  bill  through  Congress  (1836) 

1  The  principles  of  this  new  society,  formulated  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
were :  (1)  that  each  state  had  a  right  to  regulate  slavery  within  its  boundaries  ; 
(2)  that  Congress  should  stop  the  interstate  slave  trade  ;  (3)  that  Congress 
should  abolish  slavery  in  the  territories  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  (4)  that 
Congress  should  admit  no  more  slave  states  into  the  Union. 


Slave  quarters  on  a  Southern  plantation. 


POLITICS    FROM    1829  TO    1841  295 

to  exclude  antislavery  documents  from  the  mails,  and  even 
attacked  the  right  of  petition.  The  bill  to  close  the  mails  to 
antislavery  documents  failed.  But  the  attempt  to  exclude 
antislavery  petitions  from  the  House  of  Representatives  suc- 
ceeded: a  "  Gag  Rule  "  was  adopted  which  forbade  any  petition, 
resolution,  or  paper  relating  in  any  way  to  slavery  or  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  to  be  received,  and  this  was  in  force  down  to 
1844.1 

Our  Country  out  of  Debt.  —  Despite  all  this  political  commo- 
tion our  country  for  years  past  had  prospered  greatly.  In  this 
prosperity  the  government  had  shared.  Its  income  had  far 
exceeded  its  expenses,  and  by  using  the  surplus  year  by  year 
to  reduce  the  national  debt  it  succeeded  in  paying  the  last  dollar 
by  1835. 

The  Surplus. — After  the  debt  was  extinguished  a  surplus 
still  remained,  and  was  greatly  increased  by  a  sudden  specula- 
tion in  public  lands,  so  that  by  the  middle  of  1836  the  govern- 
ment had  more  than  140,000,000  of  surplus  money  in  the  banks. 

What  to  do  with  the  money  was  a  serious  question,  and 
all  sorts  of  uses  were  suggested.  But  Congress  decided  that 
from  the  surplus  as  it  existed  on  January  1,  1837,  $5,000,000 
should  be  subtracted  and  the  remainder  distributed  among  the 
states  in  four  installments. ^ 

The  Election  of  Van  Buren.  —  When  the  tijne  came  to 
choose  a  successor  to  Jackson,  a  Democratic  national  convention 
nominated  Martin  Van  Buren,  with  Richard  M.  Johnson  for 
Vice  President.  The  Whigs  were  too  disorganized  to  hold  a 
national  convention ;  but  most  of  them  favored  William  Henry 
Harrison  for  President.  Van  Buren  was  elected  (1836)  ;  but 
no  candidate  for  Vice  President  received  a  majority  of  the 
electoral  vote.     The  duty  of   choosing   that  officer  therefore 

1  Read  Whittier's  poem  A  Summons — "Lines  written  on  the  adoption  of 
Pinckney's  Resolutions." 

2  The  surplus  on  January  1,  1837,  was  $42,468,000.  The  amount  to  be  dis- 
tributed therefore  was  $37,468,000.  Only  three  installments  (a  little  over 
$28,000,000)  were  paid.  For  the  use  the  states  made  of  the  money,  read  McMas- 
ter's  History  of  the  People  of  the  TJ.  S.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  351-358. 


296 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


passed  to  the  United  States  Senate,  which  elected  Richard  M. 
Johnson. 

The  Era  of  Speculation.  —  On  March  4,  1837,  Van  Buren  ^ 
entered  on  a  term  made  memorable  by  one  of  the  worst  panics 
our  country  has  experienced.  From  1834  to  1836  was  a  period 
of  wild  speculation.  Money  was  plentiful  and  easy  to  borrow, 
and  was  invested  in  all  sorts  of  schemes  by  which  people  ex- 
pected to  make  fortunes.  Millions  of  acres  of  the  public  land 
were  bought  and  held  for  a  rise  in  price.  Real  estate  in  the 
cities  sold  for  fabulous  prices.  Cotton,  timber  lands  in  Maine, 
railroad,  canal,   bank,  and  state  stocks,  and  lots  in  Western 

towns  which  had  no  existence  save  on 
paper,  all  were  objects  of  speculation. 
Panic  of  1837. — Money  used  for 
these  purposes  was  borrowed  largely 
li  I  from  the  state  banks,  and  much  of  it 
was  the  surplus  which  the  govern- 
ment had  deposited  in  the  banks. 
When,  therefore,  in  January,  1837, 
the  government  drew  out  one  quarter 
of  its  surplus  to  distribute  among  the 
states,  the  banks  were  forced  to  stop 
making  loans  and  call  in  some  of  the 
money  they  had  lent.  This  hurt  busi- 
ness of  every  sort.  Quite  unexpect- 
edly the  price  of  cotton  fell  ;  this  ruined  many.  Business 
men  failed  by  scores,  and  the  merchants   of   New    York   ap- 


New  York  merchant,  1837. 


1  Martin  Van  Buren  was  born  in  New  York  state  in  1782,  studied  law,  began 
his  political  career  at  eighteen,  and  held  several  offices  before  he  was  sent  to 
the  state  senate  in  1812.  From  1815  to  1819  he  was  attorney  general  of  New 
York,  became  United  States  senator  in  1821,  and  was  reelected  in  1827  ;  but 
resigned  in  1828  to  become  governor  of  New  York.  Jackson  appointed  him 
Secretary  of  State  in  1829  ;  but  he  resigned  in  1831  and  was  sent  as  minister  to 
Great  Britain.  The  appointment  was  made  during  a  recess  of  the  Senate,  which 
later  refused  to  confirm  the  appointment,  and  Van  Buren  was  forced  to  come 
home.  Because  of  this  "  party  persecution  "  the  Democrats  nominated  him  for 
Vice  President  in  1832,  and  from  1833  to  1837  he  had  the  pleasure  of  presiding  over 
the  body  that  had  rejected  him.     He  died  in  1862. 


POLITICS   FROM    1829  TO    1841  297 

pealed  to  Van  Buren  to  assemble  Congress  and  stop  the  fur- 
ther distribution  of  the  surplus.  Van  Buren  refused,  and  the 
banks  of  New  York  city  suspended  specie  payment,  that  is,  no 
longer  redeemed  their  notes  in  gold  and  silver.  Those  in  every 
other  state  followed,  and  a  panic  swept  over  the  country.^ 

The  New  National  Debt.  —  With  business  at  a  standstill, 
the  national  revenues  fell  off;  and  the  desperate  financial  state 
of  the  country  forced  Van  Buren  to  call  Congress  together  in 
September.  By  that  time  the  third  installment  of  the  surplus 
had  been  paid  to  the  states,  and  times  were  harder  than  ever. 
To  mend  matters  Congress  suspended  payment  of  the  fourth 
installment,  and  authorized  the  debts  of  the  government  to  be 
paid  in  treasury  notes.  This  put  our  country  again  in  debt, 
and  it  has  ever  since  remained  so. 

Political  Discontent.  —  As  always  happens  in  periods  of 
financial  distress,  hard  times  bred  political  discontent.  The 
Whigs  laid  all  the  blame  on  the  Democrats,  who,  they  said,  had 
destroyed  the  United  States  Bank,  and  by  their  reckless  financial 
policy  had  caused  the  panic  and  the  hard  times.  Whether  this 
was  true  or  not,  the  people  believed  it,  and  various  state  elec- 
tions showed  signs  of  a  Whig  victory  in  1840. ^ 

1  Specie  payment  was  resumed  in  the  autumn  of  1838 ;  but  most  of  the 
banks  again  suspended  in  1839,  and  again  in  1841.  Read  the  account  of  the 
panic  in  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  398-405. 

2  Financial  distress  was  not  the  only  thing  that  troubled  Van  Buren's  ad- 
ministration. During  1837  many  Canadians  rebelled  against  misrule,  and  began 
the  "Patriot  War"  in  their  country.  One  of  their  leaders  enlisted  aid  in 
Buffalo,  and  seized  a  Canadian  island  in  the  Niagara  River.  The  steamer  Caro- 
line was  then  run  between  this  island  and  the  New  York  shore,  carrying  over 
visitors,  and,  it  was  claimed,  guns  and  supplies.  This  was  unlawful,  and  one 
night  in  December,  1837,  a  force  of  Canadian  government  troops  rowed  over  to 
the  New  York  shore,  boarded  the  Caroline,  and  destroyed  her;  it  was  a  dis- 
puted question  whether  she  was  burned  and  sunk,  or  whether  she  was  set  afire 
and  sent  over  the  Falls.  The  whole  border  from  Vermont  to  Michigan  became 
greatly  excited  over  this  invasion  of  our  territory.  Men  volunteered  in  the 
"  Patriot"  cause,  supplies  and  money  were  contributed,  guns  were  taken  from 
government  arsenals,  and  raids  were  made  into  Canada.  Van  Buren  sent  Gen- 
eral Scott  to  the  frontier,  did  what  he  could  to  preserve  peace  and  neutrality,  and 
thus  made  himself  unpopular  in  the  border  states.  There  was  also  danger  of  war 
over  the  disputed  northern  boundary  of  Maine.     State  troops  were  sent  to  the 


298  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

The  Log-Cabin  Campaign. — The  Whigs  in  their  national 
convention  nominated  William  Henry  Harrison  and  John 
Tyler.  The  Democrats  renominated  Van  Buren,  but  named 
no  one  for  the  vice  presidency.  The  antislavery  people,  in 
hopes  of  drawing  off  from  the  Whig  and  Democratic 
parties  those  who  were  opposed  to  slavery,  and  so  making 
a  new  party,  nominated  James  G.  Birney. 

The  Whig  convention  did  not  adopt  a  platform,  but  an 
ill-timed  sneer  at  Harrison  furnished  just  what  they  needed. 
He  would,  a  Democratic  newspaper  said,  be  more  at  home 
in  a  log  cabin  drinking  cider  than  living  in  the  White 
House  as  President.  The  Whigs  hailed  this  sneer  as  an  insult 
to  the  millions  of  Americans  who  then  lived,  or  had  once  lived, 
or  whose  parents  had  dwelt  in  log  cabins,  and  made  the  cabin 
the  emblem  of  their  party.  Log  cabins  were  erected  in  every 
city,  town,  and  village  as  Whig  headquarters ;  were  mounted 
on  wheels,  were  drawn  from  place  to  place,  and  lived  in  by 
Whig  stump  speakers.  Great  mass  meetings  were  held,  and 
the  whole  campaign  became  one  of  frolic,  song,  and  torchlight 
processions. 1  The  people  wanted  a  change.  Harrison  was  an 
ideal  popular  candidate,  and  "  Tippecanoe  ^  and  Tyler  too  "  and 
a  Whig  Congress  were  elected. 

Death  of  Harrison;  Tyler  President  (1841). — As  soon  as 
Harrison  was  inaugurated,  a  special  session  of   Congress  was 

territory  in  dispute,  along  the  Aroostook  River  (1839  ;  map,  p.  316)  ;  but  Van 
Buren  made  an  unpopular  agreement  with  the  British  minister,  whereby  the 
troops  were  withdrawn  and  both  sides  agreed  not  to  use  force. 

1  In  the  West,  men  came  to  these  meetings  in  huge  canoes  and  wagons  of 
all  sorts,  and  camped  on  the  ground.  At  one  meeting  the  ground  covered  by 
the  people  was  measured,  and  allowing  four  to  the  square  yard  it  was  estimated 
about  80,000  attended.  Dayton,  in  Ohio,  claimed  100,000  at  her  meeting.  At 
Bunker  Hill  there  were  60,000.  In  the  processions,  huge  balls  were  rolled  along 
to  the  cry,  "  Keep  the  ball  a-rolling."  Every  log  cabin  had  a  barrel  of  hard  cider 
and  a  gourd  drinking  cup  near  it.  On  the  walls  were  coon  skins,  and  the  latch- 
string  was  always  hanging  out.  More  than  a  hundred  campaign  songs  were 
written  and  sung  to  popular  airs.  Every  Whig  wore  a  log-cabin  medal,  or  breast- 
pin, or  badge,  or  carried  a  log-cabin  cane.  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the 
People  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  550-588. 

2  The  battle  fought  in  1811,  meaning  Harrison,  the  victor  in  that  battle.  See 
note  on  p.  254. 


POLITICS  FROM   1829   TO    1841  299 

called  to  undo  the  work  of  the  Democrats.  But  one  month 
after  inauguration  day  Harrison  died,  and  when  Congress 
assembled,  Tyler  ^  was  President. 

1  John  Tyler  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1790  and  died  in  1862.  At  twenty-one 
he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  1821,  and  favored  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state.  In 
1825  he  became  governor  of  Virginia,  and  in  1827  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  There  he  opposed  the  tariff  and  internal  improvements,  sup- 
ported Jackson,  but  condemned  his  proclamation  to  the  nullifiers,  voted  for  the 
censure  of  Jackson,  and  when  instructed  by  Virginia  to  vote  for  expunging,  re- 
fused and  resigned  from  the  Senate  in  1836. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  inauguration  of  Jackson  was  followed  by  the  introduction  of 
the  "spoils  system"  into  national  politics. 

2.  The  question  of  nullification  was  debated  in  the  Senate  by  Webster 
and  Hayne.  Under  Calhoun's  leadership,  South  Carolina  nullified  the  tariff 
of  1832.  Jackson  asked  for  a  Force  Act ;  but  the  dispute  was  settled  by  the 
Compromise  of  1833. 

3.  Jackson  vigorously  opposed  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  after 
his  reelection  he  ordered  the  removal  of  the  government  deposits. 

4.  This  period  is  notable  in  the  history  of  political  parties  for  (1)  the 
introduction  of  the  national  nominating  convention,  (2)  the  rise  of  the  Whig 
party,  (3)  the  formation  of  the  antislavery  party. 

5.  Slavery  was  now  a  national  issue.  An  attempt  was  made  to  shut 
antislavery  documents  out  of  the  mails,  and  antislavery  petitions  were  shut 
out  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

6.  Financially,  Jackson's  second  term  is  notable  for  (1)  the  payment 
of  the  national  debt,  (2)  the  growth  of  a  great  surplus  in  the  treasury, 
(3)  the  distribution  of  the  surplus  among  the  states. 

7.  The  manner  of  distributing  the  surplus  revenue  among  the  states 
interrupted  a  period  of  wild  speculation  and  brought  on  the  panic  of  1837. 

8.  Van  Buren,  who  succeeded  Jackson  as  President,  called  a  special  ses- 
sion of  Congress;  and  the  fourth  installment  of  the  surplus  was  withheld. 

9.  Financial  distress,  hard  times,  and  general  discontent  led  to  a  de- 
mand for  a  change;  and  the  log-cabin,  hard-cider  campaign  that  followed 
ended  with  the  election  of  Harrison  (1840). 


CHAPTER   XXIV 


GROWTH  OF   THE   COUNTRY   FROM   1820  TO   1840 


.._._.^.-^. 


Population. —  When  Harrison  was  elected  in  1840,  the  popu- 
lation of  our  country  was  17,000,000,  spread  over  twenty- 
six  states  and  three 
territories.  Of  these 
millions  several  hun- 
dred thousand  had 
come  from  the  Old 
World.  No  records 
of  such  arrivals  were 
kept  before  1820 ; 
since  that  date  care- 
ful records  have  been 
made,  and  from  them 


Settled  area  !n 
|-.-.v:..lDots  Indicate  regions  settled  \ 

lli^hptwPfin   1810  and  1840  ^ 


310  "■-•'~\ 


Settled  area  in  1840. 


it  appears  that  between  1820  and  1840  about  750,000  immi- 
grants came  to  our  shores.  They  were  chiefly  from  Ireland, 
England,  and  Germany.^ 

West  of  the  mountains  were  over  6,000,000  people  ;  yet 
but  two  Western  states,  Arkansas  (1836)  and  Michigan  (1837), 
had  been  admitted  to  the  Union  since  1821;  and  but  two  new 
Western  territories,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  had  been  organized. 
This  meant  that  the  Western  states  already  admitted  were  filling 
up  with  population. 2 

The  Public  Lands. — The  rise  of  new  Western  states  brought 
up  the  troublesome  question,  What  shall  be  done  with  the  pub- 

1  In  the  early  thirties  much  excitement  was  aroused  by  the  arrival  of  hun- 
dreds of  paupers  sent  over  from  England  by  the  parishes  to  get  rid  of  them. 
But  when  Congress  investigated  the  matter,  it  was  found  not  to  be  so  bad  as  rep- 
resented, though  a  very  serious  evil. 

'^  Life  in  the  West  at  this  period  is  well  described  in  Eggleston's  Hoosier 
Schoolmaster  and  The  Graysons. 

300 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1820  TO    1840  301 


A  public  school  of  early  times. 

lie  lands  ?  ^  The  Continental  Congress  had  pledged  the  coun- 
try to  sell  the  lands  and  use  the  money  to  pay  the  debt  of  the 
United  States.  Much  was  sold  for  this  purpose,  but  Congress 
set  aside  one  thirty-sixth  part  of  the  public  domain  for  the  use 
of  local  schools. 2  As  the  Western  states  made  from  the  public 
domain  had  received  land  grants  for  schools,  many  of  the 
Eastern  states  about  1821  asked  for  grants  in  aid  of  their 
schools.  The  Western  states  objected,  and  both  then  and  in 
later  times  asked  that  all  the  public  lands  within  their  borders 
be  given  to  them  or  sold  to  them  for  a  small  sum.     After  1824 


1  The  credit  system  of  selling  lands  (p.  241)  was  abolished  in  1820,  because 
a  great  many  purchasers  could  not  pay  for  what  they  bought. 

2  The  public  domain  is  laid  off  in  townships  six  miles  square.  Each  town- 
ship is  subdivided  into  86  sections  one  mile  square,  and  the  sixteenth  section  in 
each  township  was  set  apart  in  1785  for  the  use  of  schools  in  the  township. 
This  provision  was  applied  to  new  states  erected  from  the  public  domain  down 
to  1848  ;  in  states  admitted  after  that  time  both  the  sixteenth  and  the  thirty- 
sixth  sections  have  been  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  In  addition  to  this,  before 
1821,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana  had  each 
received  two  entire  townships  for  the  use  of  colleges  and  academies. 


302  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

efforts  were  made  by  Benton  and  others  to  reduce  the  price  of 
land  to  actual  settlers.^  But  Congress  did  not  adopt  any  of 
these  measures.  After  1830,  when  the  public  debt  was  nearly 
paid,  Clay  attempted  to  have  the  money  derived  from  land 
sales  distributed  among  all  the  states.  The  question  what  to 
do  with  the  lands  was  discussed  year  after  year.  At  last  in 
1841  (while  Tyler  was  President)  Clay's  bill  became  a  law  with 
the  proviso  that  the  money  should  not  be  distributed  if  the 
tariff  rates  were  increased.  The  tariff  rates  were  soon  increased 
(1842),  and  but  one  distribution  was  made. 

The  Indians.  —  Another  result  of  the  filling  up  of  the  coun- 
try was  the  crowding  of  the  Indians  from  their  lands.  They 
had  always  been  regarded  as  the  rightful  owners  of  the  soil 
till  their  title  should  be  extinguished  by  treaty.  Many  such 
treaties  had  been  made,  ceding  certain  areas  but  reserving 
others  on  which  the  whites  were  not  to  settle.  But  population 
moved  westward  so  rapidly  that  it  seemed  best  to  set  apart  a 
region  beyond  the  Mississippi  and  move  all  the  Indians  there 
as  quickly  as  possible.^  In  1834,  therefore,  such  a  region,  an 
"  Indian  Country,"  was  created  in  what  was  later  called  Indian 
Territory,  and  the  work  of  removal  began. 

In  the  South  this  proved  a  hard  matter.  In  Georgia  the 
Creeks  and  Cherokees  refused  for  a  while  to  go,  and  by  so 
doing  involved  the  federal  government  in  serious  trouble  with 
Georgia  and  with  the  Indians.  In  1835  an  attempt  to  move 
the  Seminoles  from  Florida  to  the  Indian  Country  caused  a 
war  which  lasted  seven  years  and  cost  millions  of  dollars.^ 

1  After  the  Indian  title  to  land  was  extinguished,  the  land  was  surveyed  and 
offered  for  sale  at  auction.  Land  which  did  not  sell  at  auction  could  be  pur- 
chased at  private  sale  for  $1.25  an  acre.  Benton  proposed  that  land  which  did 
not  sell  at  private  sale  within  five  years  should  be  offered  at  50  cents  an  acre, 
and  if  not  sold,  should  be  given  to  any  one  who  would  cultivate  it  for  three  years. 

2  An  attempt  to  remove  the  Indians  in  northern  Illinois  and  in  Wisconsin 
led  to  the  Black  Hawk  War  in  1832.  The  Indians  had  agreed  to  go  west,  but 
when  the  settlers  entered  on  their  lands.  Black  Hawk  induced  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  to  resist,  and  a  short  war  was  necessary  to  subdue  them. 

^  The  leader  was  Osceola,  a  chief  of  much  ability,  who  perpetrated  several 
massacres  before  he  was  captured.     In  1837  he  visited  the  camp  of  General 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY  FROM   1820  TO   1840  303 

Internal  Improvements.  —  Another  issue  with  which  the 
growth  of  the  West  had  much  to  do  was  that  of  government 
aid  to  roads,  canals,  and  railroads.  Much  money  was  spent 
on  the  Cumberland  Road  ;  ^  but  in  1817  Madison  vetoed  a  bill 


The  National  Road. 

appropriating  money  to  be  divided  among  the  states  for  in- 
ternal improvements,  and  from  that  time  down  to  Van 
Buren's  day  the  question  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  use  money 
for  such  purposes  was  constantly  debated  in  Congress. ^ 

The  States  build  Canals  and  Roads.  — All  this  time  popu- 
lation was  increasing,  the  West  was  growing,  interstate  trade 
was  developing,  new  towns  and  villages  were  springing  up,  and 
farms  increasing  in  number  as  the  people  moved  to  the  new 
lands.  The  need  of  cheap  transportation  became  greater  and 
greater  each  year,  and  as  Congress  would  do  nothing,  the  states 
took  upon  themselves  the  work  of  building  roads  and  canals. 

What  a  canal  could  do  to  open  up  a  country  was  shown 
when  the  Erie  Canal  was  finished  in  1825  (see  p.  273).     So 

Jesup  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  was  seized  and  sent  to  Fort  Moultrie,  near 
Charleston,  where  he  died.  His  followers  were  beaten  (1837)  in  a  hard-fought 
battle  by  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  but  kept  up  the  war  till  1842. 

1  When  Ohio  was  admitted  (p.  241),  Congress  promised  to  use  a  part  of  the 
money  from  the  sale  of  land  to  build  a  road  joining  the  Potomac  and  Ohio  rivers. 
Work  on  the  National  Road,  as  it  was  called,  was  started  in  1811.  It  began, at 
Cumberland  on  the  Potomac  and  reached  the  Ohio  at  Wheeling.  But  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois  demanded  that  the  road  be  extended,  and  in  time  it  was 
built  through  Columbus  and  Indianapolis  to  Vandalia.  Thence  it  was  to  go  to 
Jefferson  City  in  Missouri  ;  but  a  dispute  arose  as  to  whether  it  should  cross 
the  Mississippi  at  Alton  or  at  St.  Louis,  and  work  on  it  was  stopped. 

2  Jackson  vetoed  several  bills  for  internal  improvements,  and  the  hostility 
of  his  party  to  such  a  use  of  government  money  was  one  of  the  grievances  of 
the  Whigs. 


304 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


many  people  by  that  time  had  settled  along  its  route,  that  the 
value  of  land  and  the  wealth  of  the  state  were  greatly  increased.^ 
The  merchants  of  New  York  could  then  send  their  goods  up 
the  Hudson,  by  the  canal  to  Buffalo,  and  then  to  Cleveland  or 
Detroit,  or  by  Chautauqua  Lake  and  the  Allegheny  to  Pitts- 
burg, for  about  one  third  of  what  it  cost  before  the  canal  was 
opened  (maps,  pp.  267,  279).  Buffalo  began  to  grow  with  great 
rapidity,  and  in  a  few  years  its  trade  had  reached  Chicago.  In 
1839  eight  steamboats  plied  between  these  two  towns. 

A  Trip  on  a  Canal  Packet.  —  Passengers  traveled  on  the 
canal  in  packet  boats,  as  thej^  were  called.  The  hull  of  such 
,  -1      a  craft  was   eighty    feet 

long  and  eleven  feet  wide, 
and  carried  on  its  deck  a 
long,  low  house  with  flat 
roof  and  sloping  sides. 
In  each  side  were  a  dozen 
or  more  windows  with 
green  blinds  and  red  cur- 
tains. When  the  weather 
was  fine,  passengers  sat 
on  the  roof,  reading,  talk- 
ing, or  sewing,  till  the 
man  at  the  helm  called 
"Low  bridge!"  when 
everybody     would     rush 

Locks  on  the  Erie  Canal,  Lockport,  N.Y.  ^^^^  ^j^^  ^^^p^  ^^^   .^^^ 

the  cabin,  to  come  forth  once  more  when  the  bridge  was  passed. 
Walking  on  the  roof  when  the  packet  was  crowded  was  impos- 
sible. Those  who  wished  such  exercise  had  to  take  it  on  the 
towpath.  Three  horses  abreast  could  drag  a  packet  boat  some 
four  miles  an  hour. 

Western  Routes.  —  Aroused  by  the  success  of  the  Erie 
Canal,  Pennsylvania  began  a  great  highway  from  Philadelphia 


1  For  a  description  of  life  in  central  New  York,  read  My  Own  Story,  by 
J.  T.  Trowbridge. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1820  TO   1840 


305 


to  Pittsburg.  As  planned,  it  was  to  be  part  canal  and  part 
turnpike  over  the  mountains.  But  before  it  was  completed, 
railroads  came  into  use,  and  when  finished,  it  was  part  railroad, 
part  canal.  Not  to  be  outdone  by  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
the  people  of  Baltimore  began  the  construction  (1828)  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  the  first  in  the  country  for  the 
carriage  of  passengers  and  freight.^  Massachusetts,  alarmed  at 
the  prospect  of  losing  her  trade  with  the  West,  appointed 
(1827)  a  commission  and  an  engineer  to  select  a  route  for  a 
railroad  to  join  Boston  and  Albany.  Ohio  had  already  com- 
menced a  canal  from  Cleveland  to  the  Ohio.^ 

Early  Railroads.  —  The  idea  of  a  public  railroad  to  carry 
freight  and  passengers  was  of  slow  growth,^  but  once  it  was 

1  The  first  railroad  in  our  country  was  used  in  1807,  at  Boston,  to  carry 
earth  from  a  hilltop  to  grade  a  street.  Others,  only  a  few  miles  long,  were  soon 
used  to  carry  stone  and  coal  from  quarry  and  mine  to  the  wharf  —  in  1810  near 
Philadelphia,  in  1826  at  Quincy  (a  little  south  of  Boston),  in  1827  at  Mauchchunk 
(Pennsylvania).    All  of  these  were  private  roads  and  carried  no  passengers. 

2  While  the  means  of  travel  were  improving,  the  inns  and  towns  even  along 
the  great  stage  routes  had  not  improved.  "  When  you  alight  at  a  country 
tavern,"  said  a  traveler,  "it  is 

ten  to  one  you  stand  holding 
your  horse,  bawling  for  the 
hostler  while  the  landlord  looks 
on.  Once  inside  the  tavern 
every  man,  woman,  and  child 
plies  you  with  questions.  To 
get  a  dinner  is  the  work  of 
hours.  At  night  you  are  put 
into  a  room  with  a  dozen  others 
and  sleep  two  or  three  in  a  bed. 
In  the  morning  you  go  outside 
to  wash  your  face  and  then  re- 
pair to  the  barroom  to  see  your 
face  in  the  only  looking  glass  the  tavern  contains."  Another  traveler  complains 
that  at  the  best  hotel  In  New  York  there  was  neither  glass,  mug,  cup,  nor  car- 
pet, and  but  one  miserable  rag  dignified  by  the  name  of  towel. 

^  As  early  as  1814  John  Stevens  applied  to  New  Jersey  for  a  railroad  char- 
ter, and  when  it  was  granted,  he  sought  to  persuade  the  New  York  Canal  Com- 
mission to  build  a  railroad  instead  of  a  canal.  In  1823  Pennsylvania  granted 
Stevens  and  his  friends  a  charter  to  build  a  railroad  from  Philadelphia  to  the 
Susquehanna.  In  1825  Stevens  built  a  circular  road  at  Hoboken  and  used  a 
steam  locomotive  to  show  the  possibility  of  such  a  means  of  locomotion.  But 
all  these  schemes  were  ahead  of  the  times. 


Mansion  House,  39  Broadway,  New  York,  in  1831. 


306  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 

started  more  and  more  miles  were  built  every  year,  till  by  1835 
twenty-two  railroads  were  in  operation.  The  longest  of  them 
was  only  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles  long;  it  extended 
from  Charleston  westward  to  the  Savannah  River,  opposite 
Augusta.  These  early  railroads  were  made  of  wooden  beams 
resting  on  stone  blocks  set  in  the  ground.  The  upper  surface 
of  the  beams,  where  the  wheels  rested,  was  protected  by  long 
strips  or  straps  of  iron  spiked  to  the  beam.  The  spikes  often 
worked  loose,  and,  as  the  car  passed  over,  the  strap  would  curl 
up  and  come  through  the  bottom  of  the  car,  making  what  was 
called  a  "snake  head." 


1         "^ 

1^^^^^^'tfS    -^ 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^T?^                      "^    ^,       ^^_, 

Or  ■afP^  ^^^^nHaSi^^^B^^BKim 

mm 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HH 

■^^^^■1 

^3 

Painted  by  E.  L.  Henry.  Copyright,  1904,  by  C.  Klackner. 

An  early  railroad. 

What  should  be  the  motive  power,  was  a  troublesome  ques- 
tion. The  horse  was  the  favorite ;  it  sometimes  pulled  the  car, 
and  sometimes  walked  on  a  treadmill  on  the  car.  Sails  were 
tried  also,  and  finally  locomotives. ^ 

Locomotives  could  not  climb  steep  grades.  When  a  hill 
was  met  with,  the  road  had  to  go  around  it,  or  if  this  was  not 
possible,  the  engine  had  to  be  taken  off  and  the  cars  pulled  up 

1  The  friends  of  canals  bitterly  opposed  railroads  as  impractical.  Snow,  it 
was  said,  would  block  them  for  weeks.  If  locomotives  were  used,  the  sparks 
would  make  it  impossible  to  carry  hay  or  other  things  combustible.  The  boilers 
would  blow  up  as  they  did  on  steamboats.  Canals  were  therefore  safer  and 
cheaper.    Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.S.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  87-89. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY    FROM    1820  TO    1840 


307 


or  let  down  an  inclined  plane  by  means  of  a  rope  and  stationary 
engine. 1 

A  Trip  on  an  Early  Railroad. — A  traveler  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Pittsburg,  in  1836,  would  set  off  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning  for  what  was  called  the  depot.  There  his  bag- 
gage would  be  piled  on  the  roof  of  a  car,  which  was  drawn  by 
horses  to  the  foot  of  an  inclined  plane  on  the  bank  of  the 
Schuylkill.  Up  this 
incline  the  car  would 
be  drawn  by  a  station- 
ary engine  and  rope 
to  the  top  of  the  river 
bank.  When  all  the 
cars  of  the  train  had 
been  pulled  up  in  this 
way,  they  would  be 
coupled  together  and 
made  fast  to  a  little 
puffing,  wheezing   lo- 


To  Pittsburg 


RAU.  ROAD  CARS 

AND 

THE  WESTERN  TRANSPORTATION  COMPANY 

(LEECH,  ROB^MTS  if  TOLAJTVS  LUfE) 


Tkr    M-.I. 


Inam'.C.k..  >ilb  «i  t 


Prknl*    HARRISBVBG.. ... 

lewistowph 

holid4Vsri;rc.. 
•*  pittsburc 


Handbill  of  a  Philadelphia  transportation 
company,  of  1835. 


comotive  without  cab 
or  brake,  whose  tall 
smokestack  sent  forth 
volumes  of  wood 
smoke  and  red  -  hot 
cinders.  At  Lancas- 
ter (map,  p.  267)  the 
railroad  ended,  and 
passengers  went  by 
stage  to  Columbia  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  then  by  canal 
packet  up  that  river  and  up  the  Juniata  to  the  railroad  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains. 

1  Almost  all  the  early  roads  used  this  device.  There  was  one  such  inclined 
plane  at  Albany  ;  another  at  Belmont,  now  in  Philadelphia ;  a  third  on  the 
Paterson  and  Hudson  Railroad  near  Paterson ;  and  a  fourth  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio.  When  Pennsylvania  built  her  railroad  over  the  Allegheny  Mountains, 
many  such  planes  were  necessary,  so  that  the  Portage  Railroad,  as  it  was  called, 
was  a  wonder  of  engineering  skill. 


308 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 


The  mountains  were  crossed  by  the  Portage  Railroad,  a 
series  of  inclined  planes  and  levels  somewhat  like  a  flight  of 
steps.  At  Johnstown,  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  the  traveler 
once  more  took  a  canal  packet  to  Pittsburg. ^ 

The  West  builds  Railroads  and  Canals.  —  Prior  to  1836  most 
of  the  railroads  and  canals  were  in  the  East.  But  in  1836  the 
craze  for  internal  improvements  raged  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  and 
Michigan,  and  in  each  an  elaborate  system  of  railroads  and 
canals  was  planned,  to  be  built  by  the  state.  Illinois  in  this 
way  contracted  a  debt  of  115,000,000  ;  Indiana,  110,000,000, 
and  Michigan,  85,000,000. 

But  scarcely  was  work  begun  on  the  canals  and  railroads 
when  the  panic  of  1837  came,  and  the  states  were  left  with 
heavy  debts  and  unfinished  public  works  that  could  not  pay 
the  cost  of  operating  them.  Some  defaulted  in  the  payment 
of  interest,  and  one  even  repudiated  her  bonds  which  she  had 
issued  and  sold  to  establish  a  great  bank. 

The  Mails.  —  As  the  means  of  transportation  improved,  the 
mails  were  carried  more  rapidly,  and  into  more  distant  parts  of 

the  country.  By  1837  it  was  pos- 
sible to  send  a  letter  from  New 
York  to  Washington  in  one  day, 
to  New  Orleans  in  less  than 
seven  days,  to  St.  Louis  in  less 
than  five  days,  and  to  Buffalo  in 
three  days  ;  and  after  1838  mail 
was  carried  by  steamships  to  Eng- 
land in  a  little  over  two  weeks. 

Ocean  Steamships.  —  In  the 
month  of  May,  1819,  the  steam- 
ship Savannah  left  the  city  of 
that  name    for  Liverpool,  Eng- 

1  The  state  built  the  railroads,  like  the  canals,  as  highways  open  to  every- 
body. At  first  no  cars  or  motive  power,  except  at  the  inclined  planes,  were 
supplied.  Any  car  owner  could  carry  passengers  or  freight  who  paid  the  state 
two  cents  a  mile  for  each  passenger  and  $4.92  for  each  car  sent  over  the  rails. 
After  1836  the  state  provided  locomotives  and  charged  for  hauling  cars. 


The  Savannah. 


GROWTH   OF  THE   COUNTRY    FROM    1820  TO    1840  309 

land,  and  reached  it  in  twenty-five  days,  using  steam  most  of 
the  way.  She  was  a  side-wheeler  with  paddle  wheels  so  ar- 
ranged that  in  stormy  weather  they  could  be  taken  in  on  deck.^ 

No  other  steamships  crossed  the  Atlantic  till  1838,  when 
the  Sirius  reached  New  York  in  eighteen  days,  and  the 
Great  Western  in  sixteen  days  from  England.  Others  fol- 
lowed, in  1839  the  Cunard  line  was  founded,  and  regular  steam 
navigation  of  the  Atlantic  was  established. 

Express.  —  Better  means  of  communication  made  possi- 
ble another  convenience,  of  which  W.  F.  Harnden  was  the 
originator.  He  began  in  1839  to  carry  pack- 
ages, bundles,  money,  and  small  boxes  be- 
tween New  York  and  Boston,  traveling  by 
steamboat  and  railroad.  At  first  two  carpet- 
bags held  all  he  had  to  carry;  but  his  business 
increased  so  rapidly  that  in  1840  P.  B.  Burke 
and  Alvin  Adams  started  a  rival  concern 
which  became  the  Adams  Express  Company. 

Mechanical  Development.  —  The    greater 
use  of  the  steamboat,  the  building  of  rail-  Carpetbag, 

roads,  and  the  introduction  of  the  steam  locomotive,  were  but  a 
few  signs  of  the  marvelous  industrial  and  mechanical  develop- 
ment of  the  times.  The  growth  and  extent  of  the  country, 
the  opportunities  for  doing  business  on  a  great  scale,  led  to  a 
demand  for  time-saving  and  labor-saving  machinery. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  period  1820-40,  there- 
fore, is  the  invention  and  introduction  of  such  machinery. 
Boards  were  now  planed,  and  bricks  pressed,  by  machine.  It 
was  during  this  period  that  the  farmers  began  to  give  up  the 
flail  for  the  thrashing  machine  ;    that   paper  was  extensively 

1  The  captain  of  a  schooner,  seeing  her  smoke,  thought  she  was  a  ship  on 
fire  and  started  for  her,  "but  found  she  went  faster  with  fire  and  smoke 
than  we  possibly  could  with  all  sails  set.  It  was  then  that  we  discovered  that 
what  we  supposed  a  vessel  on  fire  was  nothing  less  than  a  steamboat  crossing 
the  Western  Ocean,"  In  June,  when  off  the  coast  of  Ireland,  she  was  again 
mistaken  for  a  ship  on  fire,  and  one  of  the  king's  revenue  cutters  was  sent  to 
her  relief  and  chased  her  for  a  day. 

MCM.   BRIEF  — 19 


310  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

made  from  straw  ;  that  Fairbanks  invented  the  platform  scales ; 
that  Colt  invented  the  revolver  ;  that  steel  pens  were  made  by 
machine ;  and  that  a  rude  form  of  friction  match  was  intro- 
duced.i 

Anthracite  coal  was  now  in  use  in  the  large  towns  and 
cities,  and  grate  and  coal  stoves  were  displacing  open  fires  and 
wood  stoves,  just  as  gas  was  displacing  candles  and  lamps. 

The  Cities  and  Towns.  —  The  increase  of  manufacturing  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  country  caused  the  rise  of  large 
towns  given  up  almost  exclusively  to  mills  and  factories  and 
the  homes  of  workmen. ^  The  increase  of  business,  trade,  and 
commerce,  and  the  arrival  of  thousands  of  immigrants  each  year, 
led  to  a  rapid  growth  of  population  in  the  seaports  and  chief 
cities  of  the  interior.  This  produced  many  changes  in  city 
life.  The  dingy  oil  lamps  in  the  streets,  lighted  only  when 
the  moon  did  not  shine,  were  giving  way  to  gas  lights.  The  con- 
stable and  the  night  watch- 
man with  his  rattle  were 
being  replaced  by  the  police- 
man. Such  had  been  the  in- 
crease in  population  and  area 
New  York  omnibus,  1830.  ^f  ^^le  chief  cities,  that  some 

From  a  print  of  the  time.  „       , 

means  01  cheap  transporta- 
tion about  the  streets  was  needed,  and  in  1830  a  line  of 
omnibuses  was  started  in  New  York.  city.  So  well  did  it  suc- 
ceed that  other  lines  were  started;  and  three  years  later  omni- 
buses were  used  in  Philadelphia. 

1  A  common  form  was  known  as  the  loco-foco.  In  1835  the  Democratic 
party  in  New  York  city  was  split  into  two  factions,  and  on  the  night  for  the 
nomination  of  candidates  for  office  one  faction  got  possession  of  the  hall  by  using 
a  back  door.  But  the  men  of  the  other  faction  drove  it  from  the  room  and 
were  proceeding  to  make  their  nominations  when  the  gas  was  cut  off.  For 
this  the  leaders  were  prepared,  and  taking  candles  out  of  their  pockets  lit  them 
with  loco-foco  matches.  The  next  morning  a  newspaper  called  them  "  Loco- 
Focos,"  and  in  time  the  name  was  applied  to  a  wing  of  the  Democratic  party. 

2  Good  descriptions  of  life  in  New  England  are  Lucy  Larcom's  New  England 
Girlhood ;  T.  B.  Aldrich's  Story  of  a  Bad  Boy  ;  and  E.  E.  Hale's  New  England 
Boyhood. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1820  TO    1840  311 

The  Workingman.  —  The  growth  of  manufactures  and  the 
building  of  works  of  internal  improvement  produced  a  demand 
for  workmen  of  all  sorts,  and  thousands  came  over,  or  were 
brought  over,  from  the  Old  World.  The  unskilled  were  em- 
ployed on  the  railroads  and  canals  ;  the  skilled  in  the  mills, 
factories,  and  machine  shops. 

As  workingmen  increased  in  number,  trades  unions  were 
formed,  and  efforts  were  made  to  secure  better  wages  and  a 
shorter  working  day.  In  this  they  succeeded  :  after  a  long 
series  of  strikes  in  1834  and  1835  the  ten-hour  day  was  adopted 
in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  and  in  1840,  by  order  of  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren,  went  into  force  "  in  all  public  establishments  " 
under  the  federal  government. 

The  South.  —  No  such  labor  issues  troubled  the  southern 
half  of  the  country.  There  the  laborer  was  owned  by  the  man 
whose  lands  he  cultivated,  and  strikes,  lockouts,  questions  of 
wages,  and  questions  of  hours  were  unknown.  The  mills,  fac- 
tories, machine  shops,  the  many  diversified  industries  of  the 
Northern  states  were  unknown.  In  the  great  belt  of  states 
from  North  Carolina  to  the  Texas  border,  the  chief  crop  was 
cotton.  These  states  thus  had  two  common  bonds  of  union:  / 
the  maintenance  of  the  institution  of  negro  slavery,  and  the  ^ 
development  of  a  common  industry.  As  the  people  of  the  free 
states  developed  different  sorts  of  industry,  they  became  less 
and  less  like  the  people  of  the  South,  and  in  time  the  two 
sections  were  industrially  two  separate  communities.  The  in- 
terests of  the  people  being  different,  their  opinions  on  great 
national  issues  were  different  and  sectional. 

Reforms. — As  we  have  seen,  a  great  antislavery  agitation 
(p.  293)  occurred  during  the  period  1820-40.  It  was  only 
one  of  many  reform  movements  of  the  time.  State  after  state 
abolished  imprisonment  for  debt,^  lessened  the  severity  of  laws 
for  the  punishment  of  crime,  extended  the  franchise,^  or  right 

1  Read  Whittier's  Prisoner  for  Debt. 

2  In  Rhode  Island  many  efforts  to  have  the  franchise  extended  came  to 
naught.     The  old  colonial  charter  was  still  in  force,  and  under  it  no  man  could 


312  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

to  vote,  reformed  the  discipline  of  prisons,  and  established  hos- 
pitals and  asylums.  So  eager  were  the  people  to  reform  any- 
thing that  seemed  to  be  wrong,  that  they  sometimes  went  to 
extremes.^  The  antimasonic  movement  (p.  292)  was  such  a 
movement  for  reform  ;  tlie  Owenite  movement  was  another. 
Sylvester  Graham  preaching  reform  in  diet,  Mrs.  Bloomer  advo- 
cating reform  in  woman's  dress,  and  Joseph  Smith,  who  founded 
Mormonism,  were  but  so  many  advocates  of  reform  of  some  sort. 

Owen  believed  that  poverty  came  from  individual  owner- 
ship, and  the  accumulation  of  more  money  by  one  man  than 
by  another.  He  believed  that  people  should  live  in  com- 
munities in  which  everything — lands,  houses,  cattle,  products 
of  the  soil — are  owned  by  the  community;  that  the  individual 
should  do  his  work,  but  be  fed,  housed,  clothed,  educated, 
and  amused  by  the  community.  Owen's  teachings  were  well 
received,  and  Owenite  communities  were  founded  in  many 
places  in  the  West  and  in  New  York,  only  to  end  in  failure. ^ 

Mormonism  had  better  fortune.  Joseph  Smith,  its  founder, 
published  in  1830  the  Booh  of  Mormon^  as  an  addition  to  the 

vote  unless  he  owned  real  estate  worth  $134  or  renting  for  $7  a  year,  or 
was  the  eldest  son  of  such  a  "freeman,"  After  the  Whig  victory  in  1840,  how- 
ever, a  people's  party  was  organized,  and  adopted  a  stale  constitution  which 
extended  the  franchise,  and  under  which  Thomas  W.  Dorr  was  elected  governor. 
Dorr  attempted  to  seize  the  state  property  by  force,  and  establish  his  govern- 
ment; but  his  party  and  his  state  officials  deserted  him,  and  he  was  arrested, 
tried,  found  guilty  of  treason,  and  sentenced  to  life  imprisonment.  He  was 
finally  pardoned  and  in  1842  a  state  constitution  was  regularly  adopted,  and  the 
old  charter  abandoned. 

1  In  New  York  many  people  were  demanding  a  reform  in  land  tenure.  One 
of  the  great  patroonships  granted  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  (p.  72)  still 
remained  in  the  Van  Rensselaer  family.  The  farmers  on  this  vast  estate  paid 
rent  in  produce.  When  the  patroon,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  died  in  1830,  the 
heir  attempted  to  collect  some  overdue  rents;  but  the  farmers  assembled,  drove 
off  the  sheriff,  and  so  compelled  the  government  to  send  militia  to  aid  the  sheriff. 
The  Anti-rent  War  thus  started  dragged  on  till  1846,  during  which  time  riots, 
outrages,  some  murders,  and  much  disorder  took  place.  Again  and  again  the 
militia  were  called  out.  In  the  end  the  farmers  were  allowed  to  buy  their 
farms,  and  the  old  leasehold  system  was  destroyed.  Cooper's  novels  The  Red- 
skins^ The  Chainbearer,  and  Satanstoe  relate  to  these  troubles.  So  also  does 
Ruth  Hall's  Downrenter^s  Son. 

2  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.S.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  90-97. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM   1820  TO   1840        313 

Bible.  1  A  church  was  next  organized,  missionaries  were  sent 
about  the  country,  and  in  1881  the  sect  moved  to  Kirtland  in 
Ohio,  and  there  built  a  temple.  Trouble  with  other  sects  and 
with  the  people  forced  them  to  move  again,  and  they  went  to 
Missouri.  But  there,  too,  they  came  in  conflict  with  the  people, 
were  driven  from  one  county  to  another,  and  in  1839-40  were 
driven  from  the  state  by  force  of  arms.  A  refuge  was  then 
found  in  Illinois,  where,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  they 
founded  the  town  of  Nauvoo.  In  spite  of  their  wanderings  they 
had  increased  in  number,  and  were  a  prosperous  community. ^ 

The  Great  West  Explored.  —  During  the  twenty  years  since 
Major  Long's  expedition,  the  country  beyond  the  Missouri  had 
been  more  fully  explored. 
In  1822  bands  of  merchants 
at  St.  Louis  began  to  trade 
with  Santa  Fe,  sending  their 
goods  on  the  backs  of  mules 
and  in  wagons,  thus  opening 
up  what  was  known  as  the 
Santa  Fe  trail.  One  year 
later  a  trapper  named  Prevost 

found   the   South  Pass  over  Pack  animals, 

the    Rocky    Mountains,   and 

entered  the  Great  Salt  Lake  country .^  This  was  the  beginning, 
and  year  after  year  bands  of  trappers  wandered  over  what  was 
then  Mexican  territory  but  is  now  part  of  our  country,  from 


1  Joseph  Smith  asserted  that  in  a  vision  the  angel  of  the  Lord  told  him  to 
dig  under  a  stone  on  a  certain  hill  near  Palmyra,  New  York,  and  that  on  doing 
so  he  found  plates  of  gold  inscribed  with  unknown  characters,  and  two  stones 
or  crystals,  on  looking  through  which  he  was  enabled  to  translate  the  characters. 

2  Read  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  U.  ^S'.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  102-107  ; 
454-458. 

8  In  1824  W.  H.  Ashley  led  a  party  from  St.  Louis  up  the  Platte  River, 
over  the  mountains,  and  well  down  the  Green  River,  and  home  by  Great 
Salt  Lake,  the  South  Pass,  the  Big  Horn,  the  Yellowstone,  and  the  Missouri. 
In  1826  Ashley  and  a  party  went  through  the  South  Pass,  dragging  a  six-pound 
cannon,  the  first  wheeled  vehicle  known  to  have  crossed  the  mountains  north  of 
the  Santa  Fe  trail.     The  cannon  was  put  in  a  trading  post  on  Utah  Lake. 


314 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


*.  t^'^^  -  '      %      B  R  I  T  I  : 


San  Ditijot    f- 


SCALE  or  MILES 

5       ioij      iou     Sx) 


The  Far  West  in  1840. 

the  Great  Salt  Lake  to  the  lower  Colorado  River,  and  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific. ^ 

1  In  1826  Jedediah  Smith  with  fifteen  trappers  went  from  near  the  Great  Salt 
Lake  to  the  lower  Colorado  River,  crossed  to  San  Diego,  and  went  up  California 
and  over  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  Great  Salt  Lake.  In  1827,  with  another  part}^, 
Smith  went  over  the  same  ground  to  the  lower  Colorado,  where  the  Indians  killed 
ten  of  his  men  and  stole  his  property.  With  two  companions  Smith  walked  to  San 
Jose,  where  the  Mexicans  seized  him.  At  Monterey  (mon-te-ra')  an  American 
ship  captain  secured  his  release,  and  with  a  new  band  of  followers  Smith  went  to 
a  fork  of  the  Sacramento  River.  While  Smith  and  his  party  were  in  Oregon  in 
1828,  the  Indians  massacred  all  but  five  of  them.  The  rest  fled  and  Smith  went 
on  alone  to  Fort  Vancouver,  a  British  fur-trading  post  on  the  Columbia  River. 
Up  this  river  Smith  went  (in  the  spring  of  1829)  to  the  mountains,  turned  south- 
ward, and  in  August,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Snake  River,  met  two  of  his 
partners.  Together  they  crossed  the  mountains  to  the  source  of  the  Big  Horn, 
and  then  one  went  on  to  St.  Louis.  Early  in  1830  He  returned  with  eighty-two 
men  and  ten  wagons.      This  was  the  first  wagon  train  on  the  Oregon  trail. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1820  TO    1840       315 

Between  1830  and  1832  Hall  J.  Kelley  attempted  to  found 
a  colony  in  Oregon,  but  failed,  as  did  another  leader,  Nathaniel 
J.  Wyeth.i  Wyeth  tried  again  in  1834,  but  his  settlements 
were  not  permanent.  A  few  fur  traders  and  missionaries  to 
the  Indians  had  better  fortune  ;  but  in  1840  most  of  the  white 
men  in  the  Oregon  country  were  British  fur  traders.  It  was 
not  till  1842  that  the  tide  of  American  migration  began  to  set 
strongly  toward  Oregon  ;  but  within  a  few  years  after  that 
time  the  Americans  there  greatly  outnumbered  the  British. 

1  Wyeth  had  joined  Kelley's  party  ;  but  finding  that  it  would  not  start  for 
some  time,  he  withdrew,  and  organized  a  company  to  trade  in  Oregon,  and  early 
in  1832,  with  twenty-nine  companions,  left  Boston,  went  to  St.  Louis,  joined  a  band 
of  trappers  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  and  went  with  them  to  a  great 
Indian  fair  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Snake  River.  There  some  of  his  com- 
panions deserted  him,  as  others  had  done  along  the  way.  With  the  rest  Wyeth 
reached  Fort  Vancouver,  where  the  company  went  to  pieces,  and  in  1833  Wyeth 
returned  to  Boston. 

SUMMARY 

1.  In  1810  the  population  of  the  country  was  17,000,000,  of  whom  more 
than  a  third  dwelt  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains. 

2.  For  twenty  years  there  had  been  much  discussion  about  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  public  lands  ;  but  Congress  did  not  give  up  the  plan  of  selling 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

3.  As  population  increased,  the  Indians  were  pushed  further  and 
further  west.  Some  went  to  the  Indian  Country  peaceably.  In  Georgia  and 
Florida  they  resisted. 

4.  As  Congress  would  not  sanction  a  general  system  of  federal  improve- 
ments, the  states  built  canals  and  railroads  for  themselves. 

5.  The  success  of  those  in  the  East  encouraged  the  Western  states  to 
undertake  like  improvements.     But  they  plunged  the  states  into  debt. 

6.  The  period  was  one  of  great  mechanical  development,  and  many 
inventions  of  world-wide  use  date  from  this  time. 

7.  The  growth  of  manufactures  produced  great  manufacturing  towns, 
and  the  increase  of  artisans  and  mechanics  led  to  the  formation  of  trades 
unions. 

8.  The  unrest  caused  by  the  rapid  development  of  the  country  invited 
reforms  of  all  sorts,  and  many  —  social,  industrial,  and  political  —  were 
attempted. 


CHAPTER   XXV 


MORE   TERRITORY   ACQUIRED 


V "'^'^  ^  ^   4A  i^ek'"^    nJlion  )  p 


Tyler  and  the  Whigs  quarrel.  —  When  Congress  (in  May, 
1841)  first  met  in  Tyler's  term,  Clay  led  the  Whigs  in  propos- 
ing measures  to  carry  out  their  party  principles.  But  Tyler 
vetoed  their  bill  establishing  a  new  national  bank.     The  Whigs 

then  made  some  changes  to  suit, 
as  they  supposed,  his  objections, 
and  sent  him  a  bill  to  charter  a 
Fiscal  Corporation  ;  but  this  also 
came  back  with  a  veto;  where- 
upon his  Cabinet  officers  (all  save 
Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of 
State)  resigned,  and  the  Whig 
members  of  Congress,  in  an  ad- 
dress to  the  people,  read  him  out 
of  the  party.  Later  in  his  term 
Tyler  vetoed  two  tariff  bills,  but 
finally  approved  a  third,  known 
The  disputed  Maine  boundary.  ^^  ^i^^  tariff  of  1842.      For  these 

uses  of  the  veto  power  the  Whigs  thought  of  impeaching  him  ; 
but  did  not. 

Webster- Ashburton  Treaty.  —  When  Tyler's  cabinet  officers 
resigned,  Webster  remained  in  order  to  conclude  a  new  treaty 
with    Great    Britain,^    by    which    our    present    northeastern 

1  Besides  the  long-standing  dispute  over  the  Maine  boundary,  two  other 
matters  were  possible  causes  of  war  with  Great  Britain.  (1)  Her  cruisers  had 
been  searching  our  vessels  off  the  African  coast  to  see  if  they  were  slavers. 
(2)  In  the  attack  on  the  Caroline  (p.  297)  one  American  was  killed,  and  in  1840 
a  Canadian,  Alexander  McLeod,  was  arrested  in  New  York  and  charged  with 
the  murder.  Great  Britain  now  avowed  responsibility  for  the  burning  of  the 
Caroline^  and  demanded  that  the  man  should  be  released.  McLeod,  however, 
was  tried  and  acquitted. 

316 


^^tlantic 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED  317 

boundary  was  fixed  from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Neither  power  obtained  all  the  territory  it  claimed  under  the 
treaty  of  1783,  but  the  disputed  region  was  divided  about 
equally  between  them.^ 

Soon  after  the  treaty  was  concluded  Webster  resigned  the 
secretaryship  of  state,  and  the  rupture  between  Tyler  and  the 
Whigs  was  complete. 

The  Republic  of  Texas. — The  great  event  of  Tyler's  time 
was  the  decision  to  annex  the  republic  of  Texas. 

In  1821  Mexico  secured  her  independence  of  Spain,  and 
about  three  years  afterward  adopted  the  policy  of  granting  a 
great  tract  of  land  in  Texas 
to  anybody  who,  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  and  within  a 
certain  time,  would  settle  a 
specified  number  of  families 
on  the  grant.  To  colonize  in 
this  way  at  once  became  popu- 
lar in  the  South,  and  in  a  few 
years  thousands  of  American 
citizens  were  settled  in  Texas. 

For  a  while  all  went  well ;  but  in  1833  serious  trouble  began 
between  the  Mexican  government  and  the  Texans,  who  in  1836 
declared  their  independence,  founded  the  republic  of  Texas,^ 

1  Two  other  provisions  of  the  treaty  were  of  especial  importance.  (1)  In 
order  to  stop  the  slave  trade  each  nation  was  to  keep  a  squadron  (carrying 
at  least  eighty  guns)  cruising  off  the  coast  of  Africa.  (2)  It  was  agreed  that 
any  person  who,  charged  with  the  crime  of  murder,  piracy,  arson,  robbery,  or 
forgery,  committed  in  either  country,  shall  escape  to  the  other,  shall  if  possible 
be  seized  and  given  up  to  the  authorities  of  the  country  which  he'fled. 

2  A  war  between  Mexico  and  Texas  followed,  and  was  carried  on  with  great 
cruelty  by  the  Mexicans.  Santa  Anna,  the  president  of  Mexico,  having  driven 
some  Texans  into  a  building  called  the  Alamo  (ah'la-mo),  in  San  Antonio,  car- 
ried it  by  storm  and  ordered  all  of  its  defenders  shot.  A  band  of  Texans  who 
surrendered  at  Goliad  met  the  same  fate.  In  1836,  however,  General  Samuel 
Houston  (hu'stun)  beat  the  Mexicans  in  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Jacinto.  The 
struggle  of  the  Texans  for  independence  aroused  sympathy  in  our  country;  hun- 
dreds of  volunteers  joined  their  army,  and  money,  arms,  and  ammunition  were 
sent  them.     Read  A.  E.  Barr's  novel  Remember  the  Alamo. 


318 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNION 


The  War  with  Mexico. 

and  sought  admission  into  our  Union  as  a  state.  Neither  Jackson 
nor  Van  Buren  favored  anne:s:ation,  so  the  question  dragged  on 
till  1844,  when  Tyler  made  with  Texas  a  treaty  of  annexation 
and  sent  it  to  the  Senate.     That  body  refused  assent. 

The  Democrats  and  Texas.  —  The  issue  was  thus  forced. 
The  Democratic  national  convention  of  1844  claimed  that 
Texas  had  once  been  ours,^  and  declared  for  its  "reannexation." 
To  please  the  Northern   Democrats  it  also   declared    for   the 


1  Tleferring  to  our  claim  between  1803  and  1819  (p.  270)  that  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  extended  west  to  the  Rio  Grande. 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED  319 

"  reoccupation  "  of  Oregon  up  to  54°  40'.  This  meant  that 
we  should  compel  Great  Britain  to  abandon  all  claim  to  that 
country,  and  make  it  all  American  soil. 

The  Democrats  went  into  tlie  campaign  with  the  popular 
cries,  "The  reannexation  of  Texas;  "  "The  whole  of  Oregon  or 
none  ;"  "Texas  or  disunion  "  —  and  elected  Polk^  after  a  close 
contest. 

Texas  Annexed ;  Oregon  Divided.  —  Tyler,  regarding  the 
triumph  of  the  Democrats  as  an  instruction  from  the  people  to 
annex  Texas,  urged  Congress  to  do  so  at  once,  and  in  March, 
1845,  a  resolution  for  the  'admission  of  Texas  passed  both 
houses,  and  was  signed  by  the  President.^  The  resolution  pro- 
vided also  that  out  of  her  territory  four  additional  states  might 
be  made  if  Texas  should  consent.  The  boundaries  were  in  dis- 
pute, but  in  the  end  Texas  was  held  to  have  included  all  the 
territory  from  the  boundary  of  the  United  States  to  the  Rio 
Grande  and  a  line  extending  due  north  from  its  source. 

After  Texas  was  annexed,  notice  was  served  on  Great 
Britain  that  joint  occupation  of  Oregon  must  end  in  one  year. 
The  British  minister  then  proposed  a  boundary  treaty  which 
was  concluded  in  a  few  weeks  (1846).  The  line  agreed  on  was 
the  49th  parallel  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Strait  of 
Juan  de  Fuca  (hoo-ahn'  da  foo'ca),  and  by  it  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean  (compare  maps,  pp.  278  and  330). 

War  with  Mexico.  —  Mexico  claiimed  that  the  real  boundary 
of  Texas  was  the  Nueces  (nwa'sess)  River.     When,  therefore, 

1  James  K.  Polk  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1795,  but  went  with  his 
parents  to  Tennessee  in  1800,  where  in  1823  he  became  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture. From  1824  to  1839  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  and  in  1839  was  elected 
governor  of  Tennessee.  Polk  was  the  first  presidential  "dark  horse  ";  that  is, 
the  first  candidate  whose  nomination  was  unexpected  and  a  surprise.  In  the 
Democratic  national  convention  at  Baltimore  the  contest  was  at  first  between  Van 
Buren  and  Cass.  Polk's  name  did  not  appear  till  the  eighth  ballot ;  on  the 
ninth  the  convention  "stampeded"  and  Polk  received  every  vote.  When  the 
news  was  spread  over  the  country  by  means  of  railroads  and  stagecoaches,  many 
people  would  not  believe  it  till  confirmed  by  the  newspapers.  The  Whigs  nomi.- 
nated  Henry  Clay  ;  and  the  Liberty  party,  James  G.  Birney.  Tyler  also  was 
renominated  by  his  friends,  but  withdrew. 

2  Read  Whittier's  J'exas. 


320  DEVELOPxMENT  OF  THE   UNION 

Polk  (in  1846)  sent  General  Zacliary  Taylor  with  an  army  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  the  Mexicans  attacked  him  ;  but  he  beat  them 
at  Palo  Alto  (pah'lo  ahl'to)  and  again  near  by  at  Resaca  de  la 
Palma  (ra-sah'ca  da  lah  pahl'ma),  and  drove  them  across  the 
Rio  Grande.  When  President  Polk  heard  of  the  first  attack, 
he  declared  that  "Mexico  has  shed  American  blood  upon 
American  soil.  .  .  .  War  exists,  .  .  .  and  exists  by  the  act 
of  Mexico  herself."  Congress  promptly  voted  men  and  money 
for  the  war. 

Monterey.  — Taylor,  having  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  marched 
to  Monterey  and  (September,  1846)  attacked  the  city.  It 
was  fortified  with  strong  stone  walls  in  the  fashion  of  Old 
World  cities  ;  the  flat-roofed  houses  bristled  with  guns  ;  and 
across  every  street  was  a  barricade.  In  three  days  of  des- 
perate fighting  our  troops  forced  their  way  into  the  city,  entered 
the  buildings,  made  their  way  from  house  to  house  by  breaking 
through  the  walls  or  ascending  to  the  roofs,  and  reached  the 
center  of  the  city  before  the  Mexicans  surrendered  the  town. 

New  Mexico  and  California.  —  Immediately  after  the  decla- 
ration of  war,  Colonel  Stephen  W.  Kearny  Avith  a  force  of 
men  set  off  (June,  1846)  by  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail  and 
(August  18)  captured  Santa  Fe  without  a  struggle,  established 
a  civil  government,  declared  New  Mexico  annexed  to  the 
United  States,  and  then  started  to  take  possession  of  California. 
But  California  had  already  been  conquered  by  the  Americans. 
In  June,  1846,  some  three  hundred  American  settlers,  believing 
that  war  was  imminent  and  fearing  they  would  be  attacked, 
revolted,  adopted  a  flag  on  which  was  a  grizzly  bear,  and 
declared  California  an  independent  republic.  Fremont,  who 
had  been  exploring  in  California,  came  to  their  aid  (July  5), 
and  two  days  later  Commodore  Sloat  with  a  naval  force 
entered  Monterey  and  raised  the  flag  there.  In  1847  (January 
8,  9)  battles  were  fought  with  the  Mexicans  of  California ;  but 
the  Americans  held  the  country. 

Buena  Vista.  —  Toward  the  close  of  1846  General  Winfield 
Scott  was  put  in  command  of  the  army  in  Mexico,  and  ordered 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED  321 

Taylor  to  send  a  large  part  of  the  army  to  meet  him  at  Vera 
Cruz  (va'ra  kroos).  Santa  Anna,  hearing  of  this,  gathered 
18,000  men  and  at  Buena  Vista,  in  a  narrow  valley  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  attacked  Taylor  (February  23,  1847).     The 


General  Taylor  at  Buena  Vista.     From  an  old  print. 

battle  raged  from  morning  to  night.  Again  and  again  the 
little  American  army  of  5000  seemed  certain  to  be  overcome  by 
the  18,000  Mexicans.  But  they  fought  on  desperately,  and 
when  night  came,  both  armies  left  the  field. ^ 

The  March  to  Mexico.  — Scott  landed  at  Vera  Cruz  in  March, 
1847,  took  the  castle  and  city  after  a  siege  of  fifteen  days,  and 

1  In  the  course  of  the  fight  a  son  of  Henry  Clay  was  killed,  and  Jefferson 
Davis,  afterward  President  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  was  wounded. 
At  one  stage  of  the  battle  Lieutenant  Crittenden  was  sent  to  demand  the 
surrender  of  a  Mexican  force  that  had  been  cut  off ;  but  the  Mexican  officer  in 
command  sent  him  blindfolded  to  Santa  Anna.  Crittenden  thereupon  demanded 
the  surrender  of  the  entire  Mexican  army,  and  when  told  that  Taylor  must 
surrender  in  an  hour  or  have  his  army  destroyed,  replied,  "General  Taylor 
never  surrenders."     Read  Whittier's  Angels  of  Buena  Vista. 


322 


THE   LONG   STRUGGLE  -AGAINST  SLAVERY 


about  a  week  later  set  off  for  the  city  of  Mexico,  winning 
victory  after  victory  on  the  way.  The  heights  of  Cerro  Gordo 
were  taken  by  storm,  and  the  army  of  Santa  Anna  was  beaten 
again  at  Jalapa  (ha-lah'pa).  Puebla  (pwa^bla)  surrendered 
at  Scott's  approach,  and  there  he  waited  three  months.  But 
on  August  7  Scott  again  started  westward  with  10,000  men, 
and  three  days  later  looked  down  on  the  distant  city  of  Mexico 
surrounded  by  broad  plains  and  snow-capped  mountains. 

Then  followed  in  quick 
succession  the  victory  at 
Contreras  (kon-tra'ras),  the 
storming  of  the  heights  of 
Churubusco,  the  victory  at 
Molino  del  Rey  (mo-lee' no 
del  ra')  the  storming  of  the 
castle  of  Chapultepec'  perched 
on  a  lofty  rock,  and  the 
triumphal  entry  into  Mexico 
(September  14).  ^ 
The  Terms  of  Peace  (1848).  — The  republic  of  Mexico  was 
now  a  conquered  nation  and  might  have  been  added  to  our 
domain  ;  but  the  victors  were  content  to  retain  Upper  Califor- 
nia and  New  Mexico  —  the  region  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Pacific,  and  from  the  Gila  River  to  Oregon  (compare  maps, 
pp.  318,  330).  For  this  great  territory  we  paid  Mexico 
$15,000,000,  and  in  addition  paid  some  13,500,000  of  claims  our 
citizens  had  against  her  for  injury  to  their  persons  or  property. ^ 

1  The  war  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  antislavery  people  of  the  North  as 
an  attempt  to  gain  more  slave  territory.  Numbers  of  pamphlets  were  written 
against  it.  Lincoln,  then  a  member  of  Congress,  introduced  resolutions  asking 
the  President  to  state  on  what  spot  on  American  soil  blood  had  been  shed  by 
Mexican  troops,  and  James  Russell  Lowell  wrote  his  famous  Biglow  Papers. 

2  Five  years  later  (1853),  by  another  treaty  with  Mexico,  negotiated  by  James 
Gadsden,  we  acquired  a  comparatively  small  tract  south  of  the  Gila,  called  the 
Gadsden  Purchase  (compare  maps,  pp.  330,  352).  The  price  was  $10,000,000. 
The  purchase  was  made  largely  because  Congress  was  then  considering  the 
building  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  and  because  the  route  likely  to  be  chosen 
went  south  of  the  Gila. 


Cathedral,  Mexico. 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED 


323 


Shall  the  Newly  Acquired  Territory  be  Slave  Soil  or  Free  ?  — 

The  treaty  with  Mexico  having  been  ratified  and  the  territory 
acquired,  it  became  the  duty  of  Congress 
to  provide  the  people  with  some  American 
form  of  government.  There  needed  to  be 
American  governors,  courts,  legislatures, 
customhouses,  revenue  laws,  in  short  a 
complete  change  from  the  Mexican  way  of 
governing.  To  do  this  would  have  been 
easy  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  fact  that  (in 
1827)  Mexico  had  abolished  slavery.  All 
the  territory  acquired  was  therefore  free 
soil;  but  the  South  wished  to  make  it  slave 
soil.  The  question  of  the  hour  thus  be- 
came. Shall  New  Mexico  and  California 
be  slave  soil  or  free  soil  ?  ^ 

The  Presidential  Campaign  of  1848.  — 
So  troublesome  was  the  issue  that  the  two 
great  parties  tried  to  keep  it  out  of  politics. 
The  Democrats  in  their  platform  in  1848 
said  nothing  about  slavery  in  the  new  territory,  and  the  Whigs 
made  no  platform. 

Tliis  action  of  the  two  parties  so  displeased  the  antislavery 
Whigs  and  Wilmot  Proviso  Democrats  that  they  held  a  con- 
vention, formed  the  Free-soil  party,^  nominated  Martin  Van 

1  As  early  as  1846  the  North  attempted  to  decide  the  question  in  favor  of 
freedom.  Folk  had  asked  for  $2,000,000  with  which  to  settle  the  boundary 
dispute  with  Mexico,  and  when  the  bill  to  appropriate  the  money  was  before  the 
House,  David  Wilmot  moved  to  add  the  proviso  that  all  territory  bought  with 
it  should  be  free  soil.  The  House  passed  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  but  the  Senate  did 
not ;  so  the  bill  failed.  The  following  year  (1847)  a  bill  to  give  Polk  $8,000,000 
was  introduced,  and  again  the  proviso  was  added  by  the  House  and  rejected  by 
the  Senate.  Then  the  House  gave  way,  and  passed  the  bill ;  but  the  acquisi- 
tion of   California  and  New  Mexico  by  treaty  left  the  question  still  unsettled. 

2  Their  platform  declared  :  (1)  that  Congress  has  no  more  power  to  make  a 
slave  than  to  make  a  king  ;  (2)  that  there  must  be  "  free  soil  for  a  free  people  "; 

(3)  that  there  must  be  "no  more   slave   states,  no  more  slave  territories"; 

(4)  that  "we  inscribe  on  our  banner,  'Pree  soil,  free  speech,  free  labor,  and 
free  men.'  " 


Monument  on  Mexican 
boundary. 


324 


THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


Biiren  for  President,   and    drew    away    so    many   New   York 
Democrats    from    their    party    that    the    Whigs    carried    the 


Democratic  cartoon  in  campaign  of  1848. 

state  and  won  the  presidential  election.^     On  March  5,  1849 

(March  4  was  Sunday),  Taylor^  and  Fillmore ^  were  inaugurated. 

Gold  in  California.  —  By  this  time  the  question  of  slavery  in 

the  new  territory  was  still  more  complicated  by  the  discovery 

1  The  Liberty  party  nominated  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire,  but  he 
withdrew  in  favor  of  Van  Buren.  The  Liberty  party  was  thus  merged  in  the 
Free-soil  party,  and  so  disappeared  from  politics.  The  Democratic  candidates 
for  President  and  Vice-President  were  Lewis  Cass  and  William  0.  Butler. 

2  Zachary  Taylor  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1784,  was  taken  to  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, while  still  a  child,  and  grew  up  there.  In  1808  he  entered  the  United 
States  army  as  a  lieutenant,  and  by  1810  had  risen  to  be  a  captain.  For  a  valiant 
defense  of  Fort  Harrison  on  the  Wabash,  he  was  made  a  major.  He  further 
distinguished  himself  in  the  Black  Hawk  and  Seminole  wars.  In  the  Mexican 
War  General  Taylor  was  a  great  favorite  with  his  men,  who  called  him  in 
admiration  "  Old  Rough  and  Ready."  Before  1848  he  had  taken  very  little 
interest  in  politics.     He  was  nominated  because  of  his  record  as  a  military  hero, 

8  Millard  Fillmore  was  born  in  central  New  York  in  1800,  and  at  fourteen 
was  apprenticed  to  a  trade,  but  studied  law  at  odd  times,  and  practiced  law  at 
Buffalo.  He  served  three  terms  in  the  state  assembly,  was  four  times  elected 
to  Congress,  and  was  once  the  Whig  candidate  for  governor.  In  1848  he  was 
nominated  for  the  vice  presidency  as  a  strong  Whig  likely  to  carry  New  York. 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED 


325 


A  rocker. 


of  gold  in  California.  Many  years  before  this  time  a  Swiss 
settler  named  J.  A.  Sutter  had  h 
obtained  a  grant  of  land  in  Cali- 
fornia, where  the  city  of  Sac- 
ramento now  stands.  In  1848  .',, 
James  W.  Marshall,  while  building  .• 
a  sawmill  for  Sutter  at  Coloma, 
some  fifty  miles  away  from  Sut- 
ter's Fort,  discovered  gold  in  the 
mill  race.  Both  Sutter  and  Mar- 
shall attempted  to  keep  the  fact 
secret,  but  their  strange  actions 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  laborer, 
who  also  found  gold.  Then  the 
news  spread  fast,  and  people  came 
by  hundreds  and  by  thousands  to 
the  gold  fields.^  Later  in  the  year  the  news  reached  the  East, 
and  w^hen  Polk  in  his  annual  message  confirmed  the  rumors,  the 
rush  for  California  began.  Some  went  by  vessel  around  Cape 
Horn.  Others  took  ships  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  crossed  it 
on  foot,  and  sailed  to  San  Francisco.  Still  others  hurried  to 
the  Missouri  to  make  the  overland  journey  across  the  plains. ^ 
By  August,  1849,  some  eighty  thousand  gold  hunters,  "  forty- 
niners,"  as  they  came  to  be  called,  had  reached  the  mines. ^ 

1  Laborers  left  the  fields,  tradesmen  the  shops,  and  seamen  deserted  their 
ships  as  soon  as  they  entered  port.  One  California  newspaper  suspended  its 
issue  because  editor,  typesetters,  and  printer's  devil  had  gone  to  the  gold  fields. 
In  June  the  Star  stopped  for  a  like  reason,  and  California  was  without  a  news- 
paper. Some  men  made  $5000,  $10,000,  and  $15,000  in  a  few  days.  California 
life  in  the  early  times  is  described  in  Kirk  Munroe's  Golden  Days  of  ^49,  and 
in  Bret  Harte's  Luck  of  Boaring  Camp  and  Tales  of  the  Argonauts. 

2  Those  who  crossed  the  plains  suffered  terribly,  and  for  many  years  the 
wrecks  of  their  wagons,  the  bones  of  their  oxen  and  horses,  and  the  graves 
of  many  of  the  men  were  to  be  seen  along  the  route.  This  route  was  from  In- 
dependence in  Missouri,  up  the  Platte  River,  over  the  South  Pass,  past  Great 
Salt  Lake,  and  so  to  "  the  diggings." 

*  Some  miners  obtained  gold  by  digging  the  earth,  putting  it  into  a  tin  pan, 
pouring  on  water,  and  then  shaking  the  pan  so  as  to  throw  out  the  muddy  water 
and  leave  the  particles  of  gold.  Others  used  a  box  mounted  on  rockers  and 
called  a  "  cradle  "  or  "  rocker." 

MOM.  BRIEF — 20 


326  THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

The  State  of  California.  —  As  Congress  had  provided  no 
government,  and  as  scarcely  any  could  be  said  to  exist,  the 
people  held  a  convention,  made  a  free-state  constitution,  and 
applied  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  state. 

Issues  between  the  North  and  the  South.  —  The  election  of 
Taylor,  and  California's  application  for  statehood,  brought  on  a 
crisis  between  the  North  and  the  South. 

Most  of  the  people  in  the  North  desired  no  more  slave  states 
and  no  more  slave  territories,  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave 
trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia as  a  free  gtate. 

The  South  opposed  these  things;  complained  of  the  difficulty 
of  capturing  slaves  that  escaped  to  the  free  states,  and  of  the 
constant  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  by  the  abolitionists; 
and  demanded  that  the  Mexican  cession  be  left  open  to  slavery. 

Since  1840  two  slave-holding  states,  Florida  and  Texas 
(1845),  and  two  free  states,  Iowa  (1846)  and  Wisconsin  (1848), 
had  been  admitted  to  the  Union,  making  fifteen  free  and  fifteen 
slave  states  in  all;  and  the  South  now  opposed  the  admission 
of  California,  partly  because  it  would  give  the  free  states  a  ma- 
jority in  the  Senate. 

The  Compromise  of  1850.  —  At  this  stage  Henry  Clay  was 
again  sent  to  the  Senate.  He  had  powerfully  supported  two 
great  compromise  measures  —  the  Missouri  Compromise  of 
1820,  and  the  Compromise  Tariff  of  1833.  He  believed  that 
the  Union  was  in  danger  of  destruction;  but  that  if  the  two 
parties  would  again  compromise,  it  could  be  saved. 

To  please  the  North  he  now  proposed  (1)  that  California 
should  be  admitted  as  a  free  state,  and  (2)  that  the  slave  trade 
(buying  and  selling  slaves),  but  not  the  right  to  own  slaves, 
should  be  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  To  please  the 
South  he  proposed  (1)  that  Congress  should  pass  a  more 
stringent  law  for  the  capture  of  fugitive  slaves,  and  (2)  that 
two  territories.  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  should  be  formed  from 
part  of  the  Mexican  purchase,  with  the  understanding  that 
the  people  in  them  should  decide  whether  they  should  be  slave 


MORE  TERRITORY   ACQUIRED 


327 


soil  or  free.     This  principle  was  called  "  squatter  sovereignty," 
or  "popular  sovereignty." 


Clay  addressing  the  Senate  in  1850.     From  an  old  engraving. 

Texas  claimed  the  Rio  Grande  as  part  of  her  west  bound- 
ary. But  the  United  States  claimed  the  part  of  New  Mexico 
east  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  both  sides  seemed  ready  to  appeal 
to  arms.  Clay  proposed  that  Texas  should  give  up  her  claim 
and  be  paid  for  so  doing. 

During  three  months  this  plan  was  hotly  debated, ^  and  threats 
of  secession  and  violence  were  made  openly.  But  in  the  end 
the  plan  was  accepted:  (1)  California  was  admitted,  (2)  New 

1  Read  the  speeches  of  Calhoun  and  Webster  in  Johnston's  American  Ora- 
tions, Vol.  II.  Webster's  speech  gave  great  offense  in  the  North.  Read  McMas- 
ter's  Daniel  Webster,  pp.  314-324,  and  Whittier's  poem  Ichahod.  The  debate 
and  its  attendant  scenes  are  well  described  in  Rhodes's  History  of  the  U.  S., 
Vol.  I,  pp.  104-189. 


328  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE   AGAINST  SLAVERY 

Mexico  and  Utah  were  organized  as  territories  open  to  slavery, 
(3)  Texas  took  her  present  bounds  (see  maps,  pp.  318,  330)  and 
received  §10,000,000,  (4)  a  new  fugitive  slave  law  ^  was  passed, 
and  (5)  the  slave  trade  was  prohibited  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  These  measures  together  were  called  the  Compro- 
mise of  1850. 

Death  of  Taylor.  —  While  the  debate  on  the  compromise  was 
under  way,  Taylor  died  (July  9, 1850)  and  Fillmore  was  sworn 
into  office  as  President  for  the  remainder  of  the  term. 

1  The  fugitive  slave  law  gave  great  offense  to  the  North.  It  provided  that 
a  runaway  slave  might  be  seized  wherever  found,  and  brought  before  a  United 
States  judge  or  commissioner.  The  negro  could  not  give  testimony  to  prove 
he  was  not  a  fugitive  but  had  been  kidnaped,  if  such  were  the  case.  All  citi- 
zens were  "  commanded,"  when  summoned,  to  aid  in  the  capture  of  a  fugitive, 
and,  if  necessary,  in  his  delivery  to  his  owner.  Fine  and  imprisonment  were  pro- 
vided for  any  one  who  harbored  a  fugitive  or  aided  in  his  escape.  The  law  was 
put  in  execution  at  once,  and  "  slave  catchers,"  "  man  hunters,"  as  they  were 
called,  "invaded  the  North."  This  so  excited  the  people  that  many  slaves 
when  seized  were  rescued.  Such  rescues  occurred  during  1851  at  New  York, 
Boston,  Syracuse,  and  at  Ottawa  in  Illinois.  Read  Wilson's  Else  and  Fall  of 
the  Slave  Power  in  America^  Chap.  26. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  published  her 
story  of  Uncle  TomPs  Cabin.  Mrs.  Stowe's  purpose  Was  "  to  show  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  truly  just  as  it  existed."  The  book  is  rather  a  picture  of  what 
slavery  might  have  been  than  of  what  slavery  really  was  ;  but  it  was  so  power- 
fully written  that  everybody  read  it,  and  thousands  of  people  in  the  North  who 
hitherto  cared  little  about  the  slavery  issue  were  converted  to  abolitionism. 


SUMMARY 

1.  Congress  in  1841  passed  two  bills  for  chartering  a  new  national  bank, 
but  President  Tyler  vetoed  both.  The  Whig  leaders  then  declared  that 
Tyler  was  not  a  Whig. 

2.  The  next  year  the  Webster- Ashburton  treaty  settled  a  long-standing 
dispute  over  the  northeastern  boundary. 

3.  In  1844  the  Democrats  declared  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  and 
Oregon,  and  elected  Polk  President.  Congress  then  quickly  decided  to 
admit  Texas  to  the  Union. 

4.  War  with  Mexico  followed  a  dispute  over  the  Texas  boundary.  In 
the  course  of  it  Taylor  won  victories  at  Monterey  and  Buena  Vista;  Scott 
made  a  famous  march  to  the  city  of  Mexico ;  and  Kearny  marched  to  Santa 
Fe  and  on  to  California. 


MORE  TERRITORY  ACQUIRED 


329 


5.  Peace  added  to  the  United  States  a  great  tract  of  country  acquired 
from  Mexico.  Meanwhile,  the  Oregon  country  had  been  divided  by  treaty 
with  Great  Britain. 

6.  The  acquisition  of  JNIexican  territory  brought  up  the  question  of 
the  admission  of  slavery,  for  the  territory  was  free  soil  under  Mexican  rule. 

7.  The  opponents  of  extension  of  the  slave  area  formed  the  Free-soil 
party  in  1848,  and  drew  off  enough  Democratic  votes  so  that  the  Whigs 
elected  Taylor  and  Fillmore. 

8.  Meanwhile  gold  had  been  discovered  in  California,  and  a  wild  rush 
for  the  "  diggings  "  began. 

9.  The  people  in  California  formed  a  free-state  constitution  and  ap- 
plied for  admission  to  the  Union. 

10.  The  chief  political  issues  now  centered  around  slavery,  and  as  they 
had  to  be  settled,  lest  the  Union  be  broken,  the  Whigs  and  Democrats  ar- 
ranged the  Compromise  of  1850. 

11.  This  made  California  a  free  state,  but  left  the  new  territories  of 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  open  to  slavery. 


Old  adobe  ranch  house  in  southern  California. 


330 


331 


CHAPTER   XXVI 
THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  FREE   SOIL 

The  Presidential  Campaign  of  1852. — The  Compromise  of 
1850  was  thought  to  be  a  final  settlement  of  all  the  troubles  that 
had  grown  out  of  slavery.  The  great  leaders  of  the  Whig 
and  Democratic  parties  solemnly  pledged  themselves  to  stand 
by  the  compromise,  and  when  the  national  conventions  met 
in  1852,  the  two  parties  in  their  platforms  made  equally  solemn 
promises. 

/  The  Democrats  nominated  Franklin  Pierce  ^  of  New  Hamp- 
^  shire  for  President,  and  declared  they  would  "abide  by  and 
adhere  to"  the  compromise,  and  would  "resist  all  attempts  at 
renewing,  in  Congress  or  out  of  it,  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question."  The  Whigs  selected  Winfield  Scott,  and  declared 
the  compromise  to  be  a  "  settlement  in  principle "  of  the 
slavery  question,  and  promised  to  do  all  they  could  to  prevent 
further  agitation  of  it.  The  Free-soilers  nominated  John  P. 
Hale  of  New  Hampshire.  The  refusal  of  the  Whig  party  to 
stand  against  the  compromise  drove  many  Northern  voters 
from  its  ranks.  Pierce  carried  every  state  save  four  and,  March 
4,  1853,  was  duly  inaugurated. ^ 

The  Slavery  Question  not  Settled.  — 'But  Pierce  had  not  been 
many  months  in  office  when  the  quarrel  over  slavery  was  raging 
once  more.  In  January,  1854,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois 
introduced  into  the  Senate  a  bill  to  organize  a  new  territory  to 

1  Franklin  Pierce  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1804,  and  died  in  1869. 
He  began  his  political  career  in  the  state  legislature,  went  to  Congress  in  1833, 
and  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1837.  In  the  war  with  Mexico,  Pierce  rose 
from  the  ranks  to  a  brigadier  generalship.  He  was  a  bitter  opponent  of  anti- 
slavery  measures  ;  but  when  the  Civil  War  opened  he  became  a  Union  man. 

2  The  electoral  vote  was,  for  Pierce,  254  ;  for  Scott,  42.  The  popular  vote 
was,  for  Pierce,  1,601,474  ;  for  Scott,  1,386,580;  for  Hale,  155,667. 

332 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   FREE   SOIL  333 

be  called  Nebraska.  Every  foot  of  it  was  north  of  36°  30'  and 
was,  by  the  Compromise  of  1820  (p.  274),  free  soil.  But  an 
attempt  was  made  to  amend  the  bill  and  declare  that  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  should  not  apply  to  Nebraska,  whereupon 
such  bitter  opposition  arose  that  Douglas  recalled  his  bill  and 
brought  in  another.^ 

Kansas -Nebraska  Act.  —  The  new  bill  provided  for  the  crea- 
tion of  two  territories,  one  to  be  called  Kansas  and  the  other 
Nebraska  ;  for  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise, thus  opening  the 
country  north  of  36°  30' 
to  slavery;  and  for  the 
adoption  of  the  doctrine 
of  popular  sovereignty. 
The  Free-soilers,  led  by 

_,   ,  -r-.      ^1  ^TT-i  Governor's  mansion,  Kansas,  m  1857. 

Salmon   P.    Chase,    Wil-  ^    ^  ,     . 

Contemporary  drawing. 

liam   H.  Seward,  and 

Charles  Sumner,  tried  hard  to  defeat  the  bill.     But  it  passed 

Congress,  and  was  signed  by  the  President  (1854). ^ 

The  Struggle  for  Kansas.  —  And  now  began  a  seven  years' 
struggle  between  the  Free-soilers  and  the  proslavery  men  for 
the  possession  of  Kansas.  Men  of  both  parties  hurried  to  the 
territory.^  The  first  election  was  for  territorial  delegate  to 
Congress,  and  was  carried  by  the  proslavery  party  assisted  by 
hundreds  of  Missourians  who  entered  the  territory,  voted  unlaw- 

1  Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1818,  went  west  in  1833,  was 
made  attorney-general  of  Illinois  in  1834,  secretary  of  state  and  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Illinois  in  1840,  a  member  of  Congress  in  1843,  and  of  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1847.  He  was  a  small  man,  but  one  of  such  mental 
power  that  he  was  called  "  the  Little  Giant."  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dential nomination  in  the  Democratic  conventions  of  1852  and  1856,  and  in  1860 
was  nominated  by  the  Northern  wing  of  that  party.     He  was  a  Union  man. 

2  For  popular  opinion  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  read  Rhodes's  History  of 
the  U.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  461-470. 

3  Proslavery  men  from  Missouri  and  other  Southern  states  founded  Atchison, 
Leavenworth,  Lecompton,  and  Kickapoo,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Kansas. 
Free-state  men  from  the  North  founded  Lawrence,  Topeka,  Manhattan,  Osawa- 
tomie,  in  the  east-central  part  of  the  territory. 


334  THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

fully,  and  went  home.  The  second  election  was  for  members 
of  the  territorial  legislature.  Again  the  Missourians  swarmed 
over  the  border,  and  a  proslavery  legislature  was  elected. 
Governor  Reeder  set  the  elections  aside  in  seven  districts,  and 
in  them  other  members  were  chosen  ;  but  the  legislature  when 
it  met  turned  out  the  seven  so  elected  and  seated  the  men  re- 
jected by  the  governor.  The  proslavery  laws  of  Missouri  were 
adopted,  and  Kansas  became  a  slave-holding  territory. 

The  Topeka  Constitution.  —  Unwilling  to  be  governed  by  a 
legislature  so  elected,  looking  on  it  as  illegal  and  usurping,  the 
free-state  men  framed  a  state  constitution  at  Topeka  (1855), 
organized  a  state  government,  and  applied  to  Congress  for  ad- 
mission into  the  Union  as  a  state.  The  House  of  Representa- 
tives voted  to  admit  Kansas,  but  the  Senate  would  not  consent, 
and  (July  4,  1856)  United  States  troops  dispersed  the  legisla- 
ture when  it  attempted  to  assemble  under  the  Topeka  constitu- 
tion. Kansas  was  a  slave-holding  territory  for  two  years  yet 
before  the  free-state  men  secured  a  majority  in  the  legislature,^ 
and  not  till  1861  did  it  secure  admission  as  a  free  state. 

Personal  Liberty  Laws.  —  In  the  East  meantime  the  rapidly 
growing  feeling  against  slavery  found  expression  in  what  were 
called  personal  liberty  laws,  which  in  time  were  enacted  by  all 
save  two  of  the  free  states.  Their  avowed  object  was  to  prevent 
free  negroes  from  being  sent  into  slavery  on  the  claim  that  they 
were  fugitive  slaves  ;  but  they  really  obstructed  the  execution 
of  the  fugitive  slave  law  of  1850. 

Another  sign  of  Northern  feeling  was  the  sympathy  now 
shown  for  the  Underground  Railroad.  This  was  not  a  railroad, 
but  a  network  of  routes  along  which  slaves  escaping  to  the  free 
states  were  sent  by  night  from  one  friendly  house  to  another 
till  they  reached  a  place  of  safety,  perhaps  in  Canada. 

1  In  1856  border  war  raged  in  Kansas,  settlers  were  murdered,  property- 
destroyed,  and  the  free-state  town  of  Lawrence  was  sacked  by  the  proslavery 
men.  In  1857  the  proslavery  party  made  a  slave-state  constitution  at  Lecompton 
and  applied  for  admission,  and  the  Senate  (1858)  voted  to  admit  Kansas  under 
it ;  but  the  House  refused.  In  1859  the  Free-soilers  made  a  second  (the  Wyan- 
dotte) constitution,  under  which  Kansas  was  admitted  into  the  Union  (1861). 


THE  STRUGGLE   FOR   FREE   SOIL 


335 


Reception  at  the  White  House,  in  1858.     Contemporary  drawing 


Breaking  up  of  Old  Parties.  —  On  political  parties  the  events 
of  the  four  years  1850-54  were  serious.  The  Compromise  of 
1850,  and  the  vigorous  execution  of  the  new  fugitive  slave  law, 
drove  thousands  of  old  line  Whigs  from  their  party.  The 
deaths  of  Clay  and  Webster  in  1852  deprived  the  party  of  its 
greatest  leaders.  The  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  completed  the 
ruin,  and  from  that  time  forth  the  party  was  of  small  political 
importance.  The  Democratic  party  also  suffered,  and  thousands 
left  its  ranks  to  join  the  Free-soilers.  Out  of  such  elements 
in  1854-56  was  founded  the  new  Republican  party. ^ 


L-.- 


^  The  breaking  up  of  old  parties  over  the  slavery  issues  naturally  brought  up 
the  question  of  forming  a  new  party,  and  at  a  meeting  at  Ripon  in  Wisconsin 
in  1854,  it  was  proposed  to  call  the  new  party  Republican.  After  the  passage 
of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  a  thousand  citizens  of  Michigan  signed  a  call  for 
a  state  convention,  at  which  a  Republican  state  party  was  formed  and  a  ticket 
nominated  on  which  were  Whigs,  Free-soilers,  and  Anti-Nebraska  Democrats. 
Similar  "  fusion  tickets,"  as  they  were  called,  were  adopted  in  eight  other  states. 
The  success  of  the  new  party  in  the  elections  of  1854,  and  its  still  greater  suc- 
cess in  1855,  led  to  a  call  for  a  convention  at  Pittsburg  on  Washington's  Birth- 
day, 1856.     There  and  then  the  national  Republican  party  was  founded. 


336  THE  LONG  STRUGGLE   AGAINST  SLAVERY 

The  Campaign  of  1856.  — At  Philadelphia,  in  June,  1856,  a 
Republican  national  convention  nominated  John  C.  Fremont 
for  President.  The  Democrats  nominated  James  Buchanan. 
A  remnant  of  the  Whigs,  noAV  nicknamed  "Silver  Grays,"  in- 
dorsed Fillmore,  who  had  been  nominated  by  the  American,  or 
"  Know-nothing,"  party. ^  The  Free-soilers  joined  the  Repub- 
licans.    Buchanan  was  elected.^ 

Dred  Scott  Decision,  1857. —  Two  days  after  the  inauguration 
of  Buchanan,  the  Supreme  Court  made  public  a  decision  which 
threw  the  country  into  intense  excitement.  A  slave  named 
Dred  Scott  had  been  taken  by  his  owner  from  Missouri  to  the 
free  state  of  Illinois  and  then  to  Minnesota,  made  free  soil  by 
the  Compromise  of  1820.  When  brought  back  to  Missouri, 
Dred  Scott  sued  for  freedom.  Long  residence  on  free  soil,  he 
claimed,  had  made  him  free.  The  case  finally  reached  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  decided  against 
him. 3  But  in  delivering  the  decision.  Chief- Justice  Taney  an- 
nounced: (1)  that  Congress  could  not  shut  slavery  out  of  the 

,    territories,  and  (2)  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820  was 

'  .  unconstitutional  and  void. 

1  The  American  party  was  the  outcome  of  a  long-prevalent  feeling  against 
the  election  of  foreign-born  citizens  to  office.  At  many  times  and  at  many 
places  this  feeling  had  produced  political  organizations.  But  it  was  not  till 
1852  that  a  secret,  oath-bound  organization,  with  signs,  grips,  and  passwords, 
was  formed  and  spread  its  membership  rapidly  through  most  of  the  states.  As 
its  members  would  not  tell  its  principles  and  methods,  and  professed  entire 
ignorance  of  them  when  questioned,  the  American  party  was  called  in  derision 
"the  Know-nothings."  Its  success,  however,  was  great,  and  in  1855  Know- 
nothing  governors  and  legislatures  were  elected  in  eight  states,  and  heavy  votes 
polled  in  six  more. 

2  The  electoral  vote  was,  for  Buchanan,  174  ;  for  Fremont,  114  ;  for  Fill- 
more, 8.  The  popular  vote  was,  for  Buchanan,  1,838,169  ;  for  Fremont,  1,341,- 
264  ;  for  Fillmore,  874,534.  James  Buchanan  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1791, 
was  educated  at  school  and  college,  studied  law,  served  in  the  state  legislature, 
was  five  times  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  three  times  to  the 
Senate.  In  the  Senate  he  was  a  warm  supporter  of  Jackson,  and  favored  the 
annexation  of  Texas  under  Tyler.  He  was  Secretary  of  State  under  Polk,  and 
had  been  minister  to  Great  Britain. 

3  The  Chief  Justice  ruled  that  no  negro  whose  ancestors  had  been  brought 
as  slaves  into  the  United  States  could  be  a  citizen  ;  Scott  therefore  was  not  a 

y  citizen,  and  hence  could  not  sue  in  any  United  States  court. 


THE  STRUGGLE   FOR  FREE   SOIL 


337 


The  Territories  Open  to  Slavery. — This  decision  confirmed  all 
that  the  South  had  gained 
by  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Act  and  the  Compromise 
of  1850,  and  also  opened 
to  slavery  Washington 
and  Oregon,  which  were 
then  free  territories. 

If  the  court  supposed 
that  its  decision  would 
end  the  struggle,  it  was 
much  mistaken.  Not  a 
year  went  by  but  some 
incident  occurred  which 
added  to  the  excitt^ment. 

Lincoln-Douglas  De- 
bate. —  In  1858  the  peo- 
ple of  Illinois  were  to 
elect  a  legislature  which 
would  choose  a  senator 
to  succeed  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.  The  Demo- 
crats declared  for  Douglas.  The  Republicans  nominated  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,^  and  as  the  canvass  proceeded  the  two  candidates 

1  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  Kentucky,  February  12, 1809,  and  while  still 
a  child  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Indiana.  The  first  winter  was  spent  in  a  half- 
faced  camp,  and  for  several  years  the  log  cabin  that  replaced  it  had  neither  door 
nor  wood  floor.  Twelve  months'  "schooling"  was  all  he  ever  had;  but  he  was 
fond  of  books  and  borrowed  yEsop's  Fables,  Robinson  Crusoe,  and  Weems's  Life 
of  Washington,  the  book  in  which  first  appeared  the  fabulous  story  of  the  hatchet 
and  the  cherry  tree.  At  nineteen  Lincoln  went  as  a  flatboatman  to  New  Orleans. 
In  1880  his  father  moved  to  Illinois,  where  Lincoln  helped  build  the  cabin  and 
split  the  rails  to  fence  in  the  land,  and  then  went  on  another  flatboat  voyage  to 
New  Orleans.  He  became  a  clerk  in  a  store  in  1831,  served  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
Black  Hawk  "War,  tried  business  and  failed,  became  postmaster  of  New  Salem, 
which  soon  ceased  to  have  a  post  office,  supported  himself  as  plowman,  farm 
hand,  and  wood  cutter,  and  tried  surveying  ;  but  made  so  many  friends  that  in 
1834  he  was  sent  to  the  legislature,  and  reelected  in  1836,  1838,  and  1840.  He 
now  began  the  practice  of  law,  settled  in  Springfield,  was  elected  to  Congress 
in  1846,  and  served  there  one  term. 


Lincoln's  law  office  in  Springfield. 


338  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

traversed  the  state,  holding  a  series  of  debates.  The  questions 
discussed  were  popular  sovereignty,  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
and  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  territories,  and  the  de- 
bates attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole  country.  Lincoln 
was  defeated ;  but  his  speeches  gave  him  a  national  reputation. ^ 

John  Brown  at  Harpers  Ferry.  —  In  1859  John  Brown,  a  life- 
long enerriy  of  slavery,  went  to  Harpers  Ferry,  Virginia,  with 
a  little  band  of  followers,  to  stir  up  an  insurrection  and  free  the 
slaves.  He  was  captured,  tried  for  murder  and  treason,  and 
hanged.  The  attempt  was  a  wild  one;  but  it  caused  intense 
excitement  in  both  the  North  and  the  South,  and  added  to  the 
bitter  feeling  which  had  long  existed  between  the  two  sec- 
tions.^ 

The  Presidential  Election  of  i860.  —  The  Democrats  were 
now  so  divided  on  the  slavery  issues  that  when  they  met  in 
convention  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1860,  the  party  was 
rent  in  twain,  and  no  candidates  were  chosen.  Later  in  the 
year  the  Northern  wing  nominated  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for 
President.  The  Southern  delegates,  at  a  convention  of  their 
own,  selected  John  C.  Breckinridge. 

Another  party  made  up  of  old  Whigs  and  Know-nothings 
nominated  John  Bell  of  Tennessee.  This  was  the  Constitu- 
tional Union  party.  The  Republicans^  named  Abraham  Lin- 
coln and  carried  the  election.^ 

1  For  a  description  of  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debate  of  1858,  read  Rhodes's 
History  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  314-338. 

2  Many  persons  regarded  Brown  as  a  martyr.  Read  Whittier's  Brown  of 
Ossawatomie,  or  Stedman's  Hoio  Old  Brown  took  Harper'' s  Ferry.  Read,  also, 
Rhodes's  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  383-398. 

3  The  platform  of  the  Republicans  adopted  in  1860  (at  Chicago)  sets  forth : 
(1)  that  the  party  repudiates  the  principles  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  (2)  that 

\   Kansas  must  be  admitted  as  a  free  state,  (3)  that  the  territories  must  be  free  soil, 
\'   and  (4)  that  slavery  in  existing  states  should  not  be  interfered  with. 

*  The  electoral  vote  was,  for  Lincoln,  180;  for  Douglas,  12;  for  Breckinridge, 
72  ;  for  Bell,  39.  The  popular  vote  was,  for  Lincoln,  1,866,452  ;  for  Douglas, 
1,376,957  ;  for  Breckinridge,  849,781  ;  for  Bell,  588,879.  Lincoln  received  no 
votes  at  all  in  ten  Southern  states.  The  popular  votes  were  so  distributed  that  if 
those  for  Douglas,  Breckinridge,  and  Bell  had  all  been  cast  for  one  of  the  candi- 
dates, Lincoln  would  still  have  been  elected  President  (by  173  electoral  votes  to 
130). 


THE  STRUGGLE   FOR  FREE  SOIL 


339 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  Compromise  of  1850  was  supposed  to  settle  the  slavery  issues, 
and  the  two  great  parties  pledged  themselves  to  support  it. 

2.  But  the  issues  were  not  settled,  and  in  1854  the  organization  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  reopened  the  struggle. 

3.  The  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  and  the  contest  over  Kansas  split  both  the 
Whig  party  and  the  Democratic  party,  and  by  the  union  of  those  who  left 
them,  with  the  Free-soilers,  the  Republican  party  was  made,  1854-56. 

4.  In  1857  the  Supreme  Court  declared  the  Missouri  Compromise  uncon- 
stitutional, and  opened  all  territories  to  slavery. 

5.  In  1858  this  decision  and  other  slavery  issues  were  debated  by  Lin- 
coln and  Douglas. 

6.  This  debate  made  Lincoln  a  national  character,  and  in  1860  he  was 
elected  President  by  the  Republican  party. 


Schoolhouse  in  the  mountains,  used  by 
Brown  as  an  arsenal. 

Contemporary  drawing. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 


STATE   OF   THE   COUNTRY  FROM   1840   TO   1860 

Population.  —  In  the  twenty  years  which  had  elapsed  since 
1840  the  population  of  our  country  had  risen  to  over  31,000,000. 
In  New  York  alone  there  were,  in  1860,  about  as  many  people 
as  lived  in  the  whole  United  States  in  1789. 

Not  a  little  of  this  increase  of  population  was  due  to  the 
stream  of  immigrants  which  had  been  pouring  into  the  country. 
From  a  few  thousand  in  1820,  the  number  who  came  each  year 
rose  gradually  to  about  100,000  in  the  year  1842,  and  then 
went  down  again.  But  famine  in  Ireland  and  hard  times  in 
Germany  started  another  great  wave  of  immigration,  which  rose 

^  higher  and  higher  till 


led  an 

FTT^riDots  Indicate  regions  settled  ";:•. 
t^^i^between  1840  and  I860  -i 


Settled  area  in  1840 


(1854)  more  than 
400,000  people  arrived 
in  one  year.  Then 
once  more  the  wave 
subsided,  and  in  1861 
less  than  90,000  came. 
New  States  and 
Territories.  —  Though 
population  was  still 
Settled  area  in  i860.  moving  westward,  few 

of  our  countrymen,  before  the  gold  craze  of  1849,  had  crossed 
the  Missouri.  Those  who  did,  went  generally  to  Oregon,  which 
was  organized  as  a  territory  in  1848  and  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  state  in  1859.  By  that  time  California  (1850)  and 
Minnesota  (1858)  had  also  been  admitted,  so  that  the  Union  in 
1860  consisted  of  thirty-three  states  and  five  territories.  Eigh- 
teen states  were  free,  and  fifteen  slave-holding.     The  five  ter- 

340 


STATE  OF  THE   COUNTRY   FROM    1840  TO    1860  341 

ritories  were  New  Mexico,  Utah,  Washington  (1853),  Kansas, 
and  Nebraska  (small  map,  p.  394). 

City  Life.  —  About  one  sixth  of  the  population  in  1860  lived 
in  cities,  of  which  there  were  about  140  of  8000  or  more  people 
each.  Most  of  them  were  ugly,  dirty,  badly  built,  and  poorly 
governed.  The  older  ones,  however,  were  much  improved. 
The  street  pump  had  given  way  to  water  works;  gas  and 
plumbing  were  in  general  use  ;  many  cities  had  uniformed 
police  ;^  but  the  work  of  fighting  fires  was  done  by  volunteer 
fire  departments.  Street  cars  (drawn  by  horses)  now  ran  in 
all  the  chief  cities,  omnibuses  were  in  general  use,  and  in  New 
York  city  the  great  Central  Park,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
country,  had  been  laid  out.  Illustrated  magazines,  and  weekly 
papers,  Sunday  newspapers,  and  trade  journals  had  been  estab- 
lished, and  in  some  cities  graded  schools  had  been  introduced. ^ 

Schools  and  Colleges. — In  the  country  the  district  school 
for  boys  and  girls  was  gradually  being  improved.  The  larger 
cities  of  the  North  now  had  high  schools  as  well  as  common 
schools,  and  in  a  few  instances  separate  high  schools  for  girls. 
Between  1840  and  1860  eighty-two  sectarian  and  twenty  non- 
sectarian  colleges  were  founded,  and  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis  was  opened.  Not  even  the  largest  college  in  1860 
had  800  students,  and  in  but  one  (University  of  Iowa,  1856) 
were  women  admitted  to  all  departments. 

Literature.  —  Public  libraries  were  now  to  be  found  not  only 
in  the  great  cities,  but  in  most  of  the  large  towns,  and  in  such 
libraries  were  collections  of  poetry,  essays,  novels,  and  histories 
written  by  American  authors.  Longfellow,  Holmes,  Lowell,  Poe, 
Bryant,  and  Whittier  among  poets  ;  Hawthorne,  Irving,  Cooper^ 
Simms,  and  Poe  among  writers  of  fiction;  Emerson  and  Lowell 
among  essayists,  were  read  and  admired  abroad  as  well  as  at 
home.     Prescott,  who  had  lately  (1859)  died,  had  left  behind 

1  All  the  large  cities  were  so  poorly  governed,  however,  that  they  were  often 
the  scenes  of  serious  riots,  political,  labor,  race,  and  even  religious, 

2  An  unfriendly  picture  of  the  United  States  in  1842  is  Dickens's  American 
Notes,  a  book  well  worth  reading. 


342  TPIE   LONG    STRUGGLE   AGAINST   SLAVERY 

liim  histories  of  Spain  in  the  Old  World  and  in  the  New ; 
Parkman  was  just  beginning  his  story  of  the  French  in  America; 
Motley  had  published  his  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic^  and  part 
of  his  History  of  the  United  Netherlands;  Hildreth  had  com- 
pleted one  History  of  the  United  States,  and  Bancroft  was  still 
at  work  on  another. 

Near  these  men  of  the  first  rank  stood  many  writers  popular 
in  their  day.  The  novels  of  Kennedy,  and  the  poetry  of  Drake, 
Halleck,  and  Willis  are  not  yet  forgotten. 

Occupations.  —  In  the  Eastern  states  the  people  were  engaged 
chiefly  in  fishing,  commerce,  and  manufacturing ;  in  the  Middle 
states  in  farming,  commerce,  manufacturing,  and  mining.  To 
the  great  coal  and  iron  mines  of  Pennsylvania  were  (1859) 
added  the  oil  fields.  That  petroleum  existed  in  that  state  had 
long  been  known ;  but  it  was  not  till  Drake  drilled  a  well  near 
Titusville  (in  northwestern  Pennsylvania)  and  struck  oil  that 
enough  was  obtained  to  make  it  marketable.  Down  the  Ohio 
there  was  a  great  trade  in  bituminous  coal,  and  the  union  of 
the  coal,  iron,  and  oil  trades  was  already  making  Pittsburg  a 
great  city.  In  the  South  little  change  had  taken  place.  Cot- 
ton, tobacco,  sugar,  and  the  products  of  the  pine  forests  were 
still  the  chief  sources  of  wealth;  mills  and  factories  hardly 
existed.  The  West  had  not  only  its  immense  farms,  but  also 
the  iron  mines  of  upper  Michigan,  the  lead  mines  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  and  in  Missouri,  the  copper  mines  of  the  Lake 
Superior  country,  and  the  lumber  industry  of  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin.  Through  the  lakes  passed  a  great  commerce. 
California  was  the  great  gold-mining  state ;  but  gold  and  silver 
had  just  been'discovered  near  Pikes  Peak,  and  in  what  is  now 
Nevada. 

The  Mormons.  —  Utah  territory  in  1860  contained  forty 
thousand  white  people,  nearly  all  Mormons.  These  people,  as 
we  have  seen,  when  driven  from  Missouri,  built  the  city  called 
Nauvoo  in  Illinois.  Their  leaders  now  introduced  the  practice 
of  polygamy,  and  in  various  ways  opposed  the  state  authorities. 
In  1844  they  came  to  blows  with  the  state;  the  leaders  were 


STATE  OF  THE   COUNTRY   FROM   1840  TO  1860 


343 


arrested,  and  while  in  jail  Joseph  Smith  and  his  brother  were 
murdered  by  a  mob.  Brigham  Young  then  became  head  of  the 
church,  and  in  the  winter  of  1846  the  Mormons,  driven  from 
Nauvoo,  crossed  the  Mississippi  and  began  a  long  march  west- 
ward over  the  plains  to  Great  Salt  Lake,  then  in  Mexico. 
There  they  settled  down,  and  when  the  war  with  Mexico  ended, 
they  were  again  in  the  United  States.  When  Utah  was  made 
a  territory  in  1850,  Brigham  Young  was  appointed  its  first 
governor.  1 

The  Far  West.  —  Before  1850  each  new  state  added  to  the 
Union  had  bordered  on  some  older  state  ;  but  now  California 


Fort  Union,  built  in  1829  by  the  American  Fur  Company. 

and   Oregon   were   separated   from  the  other  states  by  wide 

stretches  of  wilderness.     The  Rocky  Mountain  highland  and 

1  Several  non-Mormon  officials  were  sent  to  Utah,  but  they  were  not  allowed 
to  exercise  any  authority,  and  were  driven  out.  The  Mormons  formed  the 
state  of  Deseret  and  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union.  Congress  paid  no 
attention  to  the  appeal,  and  (1857)  Buchanan  appointed  a  new  governor  and 
sent  troops  to  Utah  to  uphold  the  Federal  authority.  Young  forbade  them  to 
enter  the  territory,  and  dispatched  an  armed  force  that  captured  some  of  their 
supplies.  In  the  spring  of  1858  the  President  offered  pardon  "  to  all  who  will 
submit  themselves  to  the  just  authority  of  the  Federal  Government,"  and  Young 
and  his  followers  did  so. 


344  THE   LONG   STRUGGLE   AGAINST  SLAVERY 

the  Great  Plains,  however,  were  not  entirely  uninhabited. 
Over  them  wandered  bands  of  Indians  mounted  on  fleet  ponies ; 
white  hunters  and  trappers,  some  trapping  for  themselves, 
some  for  the  great  fur  companies  ;  and  immense  herds  of 
buffalo,  1  and  in  the  south  herds  of  wild  horses.  The  streams 
still  abounded  with  beaver.  Game  was  everywhere,  deer,  elk, 
antelope,  bears,  wild  turkeys,  prairie  chickens,  and  on  the 
streams  wild  ducks  and  geese.  Here  and  there  were  villages 
of  savage  and  merciless  Indians,  and  the  forts  or  trading  posts 
of  the  trappers.  Every  year  bands  of  emigrants  crossed  the 
plains  and  the  mountains,  bound  to  Utah,  California,  or  Oregon. 
Proposed  Railroad  to  the  Pacific.  —  In  1842  John  C.  Fremont, 
with  Kit  Carson  as  guide,  began  a  series  of  explorations  which 
finally  extended  from  the  Columbia  to  the  Colorado,  and  from 
the  Missouri  to  California  and  Oregon  (map,  p.  314). ^  Men 
then  began  to  urge  seriously  the  plan  of  a  railroad  across  the 
continent  to  some  point  on  the  Pacific.  In  1845  Asa  Whitney  ^ 
applied  to  Congress  for  a  grant  of  a  strip  of  land  from  some 
point  on  Lake  Michigan  to  Puget  Sound,  and  came  again  with 
like  appeals  in  1846  and  1848.  By  that  time  the  Mexican 
cession  had  been  acquired,  and  this  with  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California  gave  the  idea  such  importance  that  (in  1853) 

1  An  interesting  account  of  the  buffalo  is  given  in  A.  C.  Laut's  Tlie  Story 
of  the  Trapper,  pp.  65-80.  Herds  of  a  hundred  thousand  were  common.  As 
many  as  a  million  buffalo  robes  were  sent  east  each  year  in  the  thirties  and 
forties. 

2  John  C.  Fremont  was  born  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  1813,  and  in  1842  was 
Lieutenant  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army.  In  1842  he  went  up  the  Platte 
River  and  through  the  South  Pass.  The  next  year  he  passed  southward  to 
Great  Salt  Lake,  then  northwestward  to  the  Columbia,  then  southward  through 
Oregon  to  California,  and  back  by  Great  Salt  Lake  to  South  Pass  in  1844. 
In  1845  he  crossed  what  is  now  Nebraska  and  Utah,  and  reached  the  vicinity 
of  Monterey  in  California.  The  Mexican  authorities  ordered  him  away  ;  but 
he  remained  in  California  and  helped  to  win  the  country  during  the  war  with 
Mexico.  Later  he  was  senator  from  California,  Republican  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent in  1856,  and  an  army  general  during  the  Civil  War. 

8  Whitney  asked  for  a  strip  sixty  miles  wide.  So  much  of  the  land  as  was 
not  needed  for  railroad  purposes  was  to  be  sold  and  the  money  used  to  build  the 
road.  During  1847-49  his  plan  was  approved  by  the  legislatures  of  seventeen 
states,  and  by  mass  meetings  of  citizens  or  Boards  of  Trade  in  seventeen  cities. 


STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY    FROxM    1840  TO    1860 


345 


money  was  finally  voted  by  Congress  for  the  survey  of  several 
routes.  Jefferson  Davis,  as  Secretary  of  War,  ordered  five 
routes  to  be  surveyed  and  (in  1855)  recommended  the  most 
southerly ;  and  the  Senate  passed  a  bill  to  charter  three  roads. ^ 
Jealousy  among  the  states  prevented  the  passage  of  the  bill 
by  the  House.  In  1860  the  platforms  of  the  Democratic  and 
Republican  parties  declared  for  such  a  railroad. 

Mechanical  Improvement.  —  During  the  period  1840-60  me- 
chanical improvement  was  more  remarkable  than  in  earlier 
periods.  The  first  iron-front  building  was  erected,  the  first 
steam  fire  engine  used,  wire  rope  manufactured,  a  grain  drill 
invented,  Hoe's  printing  press 
with  revolving  type  cylinders 
introduced,  and  six  inventions 
or  discoveries  of  universal 
benefit  to  mankind  were  given 
to  the  world.  They  were  the 
electric  telegraph,  the  sewing 
machine,  the  improved  har- 
vester, vulcanized  rubber,  the 

i  photograph,  and  anaesthesia. 
The     Telegraph.  —  Seven 
years     of     struggle      enabled 

^  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  helped  by 
Alfred  Vail,  to  make  the  elec- 
tric telegraph  a  success,^  and  in 
1844,  with  the  aid  of  a  small  ap- 
propriation by  Congress,  Morse 

built    a     telegraph     line     from     Morse  and  his  first  telegraph  instrument. 

1  One  from  the  west  border  of  Texas  to  California  ;  another  from  the  west 
border  of  Missouri  to  California  ;  and  a  third  from  the  west  border  of  Wisconsin 
to  the  Pacific  in  Oregon  or  Washington. 

2  In  1842  Morse  laid  the  first  submarine  telegraph  in  the  world,  from 
Governors  Island  in  New  York  harbor  to  New  York  city.  It  consisted  of  a  wire 
wound  with  string  and  coated  with  tar,  pitch,  and  india  rubber,  to  prevent  the 
electric  current  running  off  into  the  water.  It  was  laid  on  October  18,  and  the 
next  morning,  while  messages  were  being  received,  the  anchor  of  a  vessel  caught 
and  destroyed  the  wire. 

MCM.  BRIEF  —  21 


346 


THE   LONG   STRUGGLE   AGAINST   SLAVERY 


Baltimore  to  Washington. ^   Further  aid  was  asked  from  Congress 

and   refused. 2     The  Magnetic  Telegraph   Company  was  then 

started.     New  York  and  Baltimore  were  connected  in  1846, 

and  in  ten  years  some  forty  companies  were  in  operation  in  the 

most  populous  states. 

The    Sewing    Machine ;    the    Harvester.  —  A  man  named 

Hunt  invented  the  lockstitch  sewing  machine  in  1834 ;  but  it 

was   not   successful,   and   some    time 

elapsed  before  his  idea  was  taken  up 

by    Elias    Howe,  who    aifter    several 

years  of  experiment  (1846)    made   a 

practical  machine.     People  were  slow 

to   use   it,    but   by   1850   he   had   so 

aroused  the  interest  of  inventors  that 

seven  rivals  were  in  the  field,  and  to 

their  joint  labors  we  owe  one  of  the 

most   useful   inventions   of    the   cen-  ' 

tury.    From  the  household  the  sewing    ^^^^'^  ^^"^  ^^™s  '^'^'''^' 

machine  passed  into  use  in  factories  (1862),  and  to-day  gives 

employment  to  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of 
people. 

What  the  sewing 
machine  is  to  the  home 
and  the  factory,  that 
is  the  reaper  to  the 
farm.  After  many 
Early  harvester.    From  an  old  print.  years    of    experiment 

1  The  wire  was  at  first  put  in  a  lead  tube  and  laid  in  a  furrow  plowed  in 
the  earth.  This  failed  ;  so  the  wire  was  strung  on  poles.  One  end  was  in  the 
Pratt  St.  Depot,  Baltimore,  and  the  other  in  the  Supreme  Court  Chamber 
at  Washington.  The  first  words  sent,  after  the  completion  of  the  line,  were 
"  What  hath  God  wrought."  Two  days  later  the  Democratic  convention  (which 
nominated  Polk  for  President)  met  at  Baltimore,  and  its  proceedings  were 
reported  hourly  to  Washington  by  telegraph. 

2  Morse  offered  to  sell  his  patent  to  the  government,  but  the  Postmaster 
General  reported  that  the  telegraph  was  merely  an  interesting  experiment  and 
could  never  have  a  practical  value,  so  the  offer  was  not  accepted. 


STATE  OF  THE   COUNTRY    FROM    1840  TO    1860 


347 


Cyrus  McCormick  invented  a  practical  reaper  and  (1840) 
sought  to  put  it  on  the  market,  but  several  more  years  passed 
before  success  was  assured.  To-daj^,  greatly  improved  and 
perfected,  it  is  in  use  the  world  over,  and  has  made  possible/ 
the  great  grain  fields,  not  only  of  our  own  middle  West  and 
Northwest,  but  of  Argentina,  Australia,  and  Russia. 

Vulcanized  Rubber ;  Photography ;  Anaesthesia.  —  The  early 
attempts  to  use  India  rubber  for  shoes,  coats,  caps,  and  wagon 
covers  failed  because  in  warm  weather  the  rubber  softened  and 
emitted  an  offensive  smell.  To  overcome  this  Goodyear 
labored  year  after  year  to  discover  a  method  of  hardening  or, 
as  it  is  called,  vulcanizing  rubber.  Even  when  the  discovery 
was  made  and  patented,  sev- 
eral years  passed  before  he  was 
sure  of  the  process.  In  1844 
he  succeeded  and  gave  to  the 
world  a  most  useful  inven- 
tion. 

In  1839  a  Frenchman 
named  Daguerre  patented  a 
method  of  taking  pictures 
by  exposing  to  sunlight  a 
copper  plate  treated  with 
certain  chemicals.  The  ex- 
posure for  each  picture  was 
some  twenty  minutes.  An 
American,  Dr.  John  W.  Dra- 
_per,  so  improved  the  method 


A  daguerreotype,  in  metal  case,   1843. 


that  pictures  were  taken  of  persons  in  a  much  shorter  time, 
and  photography  was  fairly  started. 

Greater  yet  was  the  discovery  that  by  breathing  sulphuric 
ether  a  person  can  become  insensible  to  pain  and  then  recover 
consciousness.  The  glory  of  the  discovery  has  been  claimedy^ 
for  Dr^Morton  and  Dr.  Jackson,  who  used  it  in  1846.  Laugh- 
ing gas  (nitrous  oxide)  was  used  as  an  ansesthetic  before  this 
time  by  Dr.  Wells  of  Hartford. 


348  THE   LON'G   STRUGGLE   AGAINST  SLAVERY 

Transportation  Improved.  —  In  the  country  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi some  thirty  thousand  miles  of  railroad  had  been  built, 
and  direct  communication  opened  from  the  North  and  East 
to  Chicago  (1853)  and  New  Orleans  (1859).  For  the  growth 
of  railroads  between  1850  and  1861  study  the  maps  on 
pp.  331,  353.  ^  At  first  the  lines  between  distant  cities  were 
composed  of  many  connecting  but  independent  roads.  Thus 
between  Albany  and  Buffalo  there  were  ten  such  little  roads  ; 
but  in  1853  they  were  consolidated  and  became  the  New 
York  Central,  and  the  era  of  the  great  trunk  lines  was  fairly 
opened. 

On  the  ocean,  steamship  service  between  the  Old  World 
and  the  New  was  so  improved  that  steamships  passed  from 
Liverpool  to  New  York  in  less  than  twelve  days. 

Better  means  of  transportation  were  of  benefit,  not  merely 
to  the  traveler  and  the  merchant,  but  to  the  people  generally. 
Letters  could  be  carried  faster  and  more  cheaply,  so  the  rate 
of  postage  on  a  single  letter  was  reduced  (1851)  from  five 
or  ten  cents  to  three  cents,^  and  before  1860  express  service 
covered  every  important  line  of  transportation. 

The  Atlantic  Cable.  —  The  success  of  the  telegraph  on  land 
suggested  a  bold  attempt  to  lay  wires  across  the  bed  of  the 
ocean,  and  in  1854  Cyrus  W.  Field  of  New  York  was  asked  to 
aid  in  the  laying  of  a  cable  from  St.  Johns  to  Cape  Ray,  New- 
foundland. But  Fjeld  went  further  and  formed  a  company  to 
join  Newfoundland  and  Ireland  by  cable,  and  after  two  failures 

1  The  use  of  vast  sums  of  money  in  building  so  many  railroads,  together 
with  overtrading  and  reckless  speculation,  brought  on  a  business  panic  in  1857. 
Factories  were  closed,  banks  failed,  thousands  of  men  and  women  were  thrown 
out  of  employment,  and  for  two  years  the  country  suffered  from  hard  times. 

2  It  was  not  till  1883  that  the  rate  was  reduced  to  two  cents.  Before  the 
introduction  of  the  postage  stamp,  letters  were  sent  to  the  post  offices,  and  when 
the  postage  had  been  paid,  they  were  marked  "Paid  "  by  the  officials.  When 
the  mails  increased  in  volume  in  the  large  cities,  this  way  of  doing  business  con- 
sumed so  much  time  that  the  postmasters  at  St.  Louis  and  New  York  sold  stamps 
to  be  affixed  to  letters  as  evidence  that  the  postage  had  been  paid.  The  con- 
venience was  so  great  that  public  opinion  forced  Congress  to  authorize  the  post 
office  department  to  furnish  stamps  and  require  the  people  to  use  them 
(1847). 


STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1840  TO    1860  349 

succeeded  (1858).  During  three  weeks  all  went  well  and 
some  four  hundred  messages  were  sent ;  then  the  cable  ceased 
to  work,  and  eight  years  passed  before  another  was  laid.  Since 
then  many  telegraph  cables  have  been  laid  across  the  Atlantic  ; 
but  it  was  not  till  1903  that  the  first  was  laid  across  the  Pacific.  \J 

Foreign  Relations.  —  We  have  seen  how  during  this  period 
our  country  was  expanded  by  the  annexation  of  Texas  (1845) 
and  by  two  cessions  of  territory  from  Mexico  (1848  and  1853). 
But  this  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  South,  and  attempts  were 
made  to  buy  Cuba.  Polk  (1848)  offered  Spain  $100,000,000 
for  it.  Filibusters  tried  to  capture  it  (in  1851),  and  Pierce 
(1853)  urged  its  annexation.  With  this  end  in  view  our 
ministers  to  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain  met  at  Ostend 
in  Belgium  in  1854  and  issued  what  was  called  the  Ostend 
Manifesto.  This  set  forth  that  Cuba  must  be  annexed  to  pro- 
tect slavery,  and  if  Spain  would  not  sell  for  a  fair  price,  "  then  i 
by  every  law,  human  and  divine,  we  shall  be  justified  in  wrest- 
ing it  from  Spain  if  we  possess  the  power."  Buchanan  also 
(1858)  urged  the  purchase  of  Cuba;  but  in  vain. 

China  and  Japan.  —  More  pleasing  to  recall  are  our  rela- 
tions with  China  and  Japan.     Our  flag  was  first  seen  in  China  ^ 
in  1784,  when  the  trading  vessel  Empress  of  China  reached 
Canton.     Washington    (1790)   appointed    a    consul   to   reside 
in   that   city,   the   only    one   in    China  then  open  to  foreign 
trade  ;    but  no  minister  from  the   United  States  was  sent  to  ^ 
China  till    Caleb    Cushing  went  in  1844.     By  him  our  first 
treaty  was  negotiated  with  China,  under  which  five  ports  were 
opened  to  American  trade  and  two  very  important  concessions 
secured  ;   (1)  American  citizens  charged  with  any  criminal  act  [ 
were  to  be  tried  and  punished  only  by  the  American  consul.  ^ 
(2)  All  privileges  which  China  might  give  to  any  other  nation    ^ 
were  likewise  to  be  given  to  the  United  States. 

At  that  time  Japan  was  a  "hermit  nation."  In  1853,  how- 
ever, Commodore  M.  C.  Perry  went  to  that  country  with  a 
fleet,  and  sent  to  the  emperor  a  message  expressing  the  wish 
of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  trade  relations  with  Japan. 


350 


THE   LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


Then  he  sailed  away ;  but  returned  in  1854  and  made  a  treaty 
(the  first  entered  into  by  Japan)  which  resulted  in  opening 
that  country  to  the  United  States.  Other  nations  followed, 
and  Japan  was  thus  opened  to  trade  with  the  civilized  world. 


SUMMARY 

1.  Between  1840  and  1860  the  population  increased  from  17,000,000  to 
31,000,000. 

2.  During  this  period  millions  of  immigrants  had  come. 

3.  As  population  continued  to  move  westward  new  states  and  territories 
were  formed. 

4.  In  one  of  these  new  territories,  Utah,  were  the  Mormons  who  had 
been  driven  from  Illinois. 

5.  The  rise  of  a  new  state  on  the  Pacific  coast  revived  the  old  demand 
for  a  railroad  across  the  plains,  and  surveys  were  ordered. 

6.  East  of  the  Mississippi  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads  were  built, 
and  the  East,  the  West,  and  the  far  South  were  connected. 

7.  This  period  is  marked  by  many  great  inventions   and  discoveries, 
including  the  telegraph,  the  sewing  machine,  and  the  reaper. 

8.  It  was  in  this  period   that  trade  relations  were  begun  v/ith  China 
and  Japan. 


Modern  harvester. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


THE   CIVIL  WAR,   18G1-1863 


The.  Confederate  States  of 
America.  —  After  Lincoln's 
election,  the  cotton  states, 
one  by  one,  passed  ordinances 
declaring  that  they  left  the 
Union.  First  to  go  was 
South  Carolina  (December 
20,  1860),  and  by  February 
1,  1861,  Mississippi,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas  had  followed.  On 
February  4  delegates  from 
six  of  these  seven  states  met 
at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
framed    a    constitution, ^    es-      -***«<i-^»- 

'Tba  Coiled  SMu  c 

tablished   the    "  Confederate  

States     of     America,"     and 
elected  Jefferson  Davis  ^  and 


CHARLHSIf  ON 

MERCURY 


EXTRA: 


Ananl  mumtmotultf  at  I.IA  •*cto«/»,  P.  M^  IheemkW) 
SO/*,  IS09, 

AN  ORDIIVAJVCE 

T«  dUtolB*  «*•  DnUm  Mtnem  Ikt  StaU  nf  Soulk  CaraUaa  md' 
other  SlaUt  unUed  wUk  her  mider  the  eompaet  tntUltd  «  J%» 
OmitUutUm  nt  ihe  Vtdttd  StaU*  of  .tmer1e»." 

Wt.litPKrte  ef  tit  Suit  t/SimlkOanliati,m  Co—mtm  tatmUtd,  *>  ^tdtifmd  m^ea,  m* 


nu  lh>  Onllouce  idopM  b;  a  ia  CunXiM,  oo  lh«  Iwent;  lUnl  itf  at  JUf,  k  (to 
TMrarcnrLotd  ow  thoiu^ixl  Mren  hndred  ulttight]r-e■gtl^  (iMrabx  tb.  CogUiuiioa  «f  lU 
XmltJ  SUM  or  Amtilo  •»  nUIwl,  ud  di.,  tfl  Aou  ud  putt  «f  Icto  (f  <fc«  OmmiI 
^jmbUt  of  tUa  8uu>,  lUifTin  vauidaMU  ot  Uw  •>id  CosatiBaiM,  w*  ttntff  npMMi 


UNION 

DISSOLVED! 

Newspaper  bulletin  posted  in  the  streets 
of  Charleston. 


1  The  constitution  of  the  Con- 
federacy was  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  altered  to  suit  condi- 
tions. The  President  was  to  serve 
six  years  and  was  not  to  be  eligible 
for  reelection  ;  the  right  to  own  slaves 
was  affirmed,  but  no  slaves  were  to 
be  imported  from  any  foreign  country 
except  the  slave-holding  states  of  the 
old  Union.  The  Congress  was  for- 
bidden to  establish  a  tariff  for  protection  of  any  branch  of  industry.  A  Su- 
preme Court  was  provided  for,  but  was  never  organized. 

2  Jefferson  Davis  was  born  in  1808,  graduated  from  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point  in  1828,  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  resigned  from  the  army  in 
1835,  and  became  a  cotton  planter  in  Mississippi.     In  1845  he  was  elected  to 

351 


352 


vi->a» 


T'«fffon 


\      Springfield         ^ 

i 

iT£(hlequah       Vpt-PiU 
^    "^^'v^!  Van  Buren 


;CbatUno^ 


^-t>,,,.s 


azcs 
atiago 


THE  UNITED  STATES 
in  1861 


SCALE  or  MILES 


0  100  200  300  400  EoO 


Greenwich  85 

353" 


Abraham  Lincoln. 
Photograph  of  1856. 


354 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1861-1863 


355 


Alexander  H.  Stephens  provisional  President  and  Vice  Presi- 
dent.    Later  they  were  elected  by  the  people. 

Lincoln's  Policy.  —  President  Buchanan  did  nothing  to 
prevent  all  this,  and  such  was  the  political  situation  when 
Lincoln  was  inaugurated  (March  4,  1861).  His  views  and  his 
policy  were  clearly  stated  in  his  inaugural  address  :  "  I  have 
no  purpose  directly  or  indirectly  to  interfere  with  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  in  the 
states  where  it  exists. 
.  .  .  No  state  on  its 
own  mere  motion  can 
lawfully  get  out  of  the 
Union.  .  .  .  The  Union 
is  unbroken,  and  to  the 
extent  of  my  ability  I 
shall  take  care  that  the 
laws  of  the  Union  be 
faithfully  executed  in  all 
the  states.  ...  In  do- 
ing this  there  need  be  no 
bloodshed  or  violence, 
and  there  shall  be  none 
unless  it  be  forced  upon 
ihe  national  authority. 
.  .  .  The  power  con- 
fided in  me  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy,  and  possess  the  prop- 
erty and  places  belonging  to  the  government." 

Fort  Sumter  Captured.  —  Almost  all  the  "  property  and 
places  "  belonging  to  the  United  States  government  in  the  seven 
seceding  states  had  been  seized  by  the   Confederates.  ^     But 


Copyright,  1867,  by  Anderson. 

Jefferson  Davis. 


Congress,  but  resigned  to  take  part  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  was  wounded  at 
Buena  Vista.  In  1847  he  was  elected  a  senator,  and  from  1853  to  1857  was  Secre- 
tary of  War.  He  then  returned  to  the  Senate,  where  he  was  when  Mississippi 
seceded.     He  died  in  New  Orleans  in  1889. 

1  Property  of  the  United  States  seized  by  the  states  was  turned  over  to  the 
Confederate  government.  Thus  Louisiana  gave  up  $536,000  in  specie  taken 
from  the  United  States  customhouse  and  mint  at  New  Orleans. 


356  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  harbor  was  still  in  Union  hands,  and 
to  this,  Lincoln  notified  the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  supplies 
would  be  sent.  Thereupon  the  Confederate  army  already  gath- 
ered in  Charleston  bombarded  the  fort  till  Major  Anderson 
surrendered  it  (April  14,  1861). ^ 


One  of  the  batteries  that  bombarded  Fort  Sumter. 

The  War  opens.  —  With  the  capture  of  Fort  Sumter  the 
war  for  the  Union  opened  in  earnest.  On  April  15  Lincoln 
V^  called  for  seventy-five  thousand  militia  to  serve  for  three 
months. 2  Thereupon  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and 
Arl?:ansas  seceded  and  joined  the  Confederacy.  The  capital  of 
the  Confederacy  was  soon  moved  from  Montgomery  to  Rich- 
mond, Virginia. 

In  the  slave-holding  states  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky, 
and  Missouri  the  Union  men  outnumbered  the  secessionists  and 
held  these  states  in  the  Union.  When  Virginia  seceded,  the 
western  counties  refused  to  leave  the  Union,  and  in  1863  were 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  the  state  of  West  Virginia. 

1  Read  "Inside  Sumter  in  '61"  in  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  TFar, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  65-73. 

2  Read  "War  Preparations  in  the  Nortli"  in  Battles  and  Leaders  ^of  the 
Civil  War,  Vol.  I,  pp.  85-98;  on  pp.  149-159,  also,  read  "Going  to  the  Front." 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1861-1863 


357 


The  Dividing  Line.  —  The  first  call  for  troops  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  a  second.  The  responses  to  both  were  so  prompt  that 
by  July  1,  1861,  more  than  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
Union  soldiers  were  under  arms.  They  were  stationed  at 
various  points  along  a  line  that  stretched  from  Norfolk  in  Vir-  T 
ginia  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  Potomac  River  to  Harpers 
Ferry,  and  then  across  western  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Mis-  , 
souri.     South  of  this  dividing  line  were  the  Confederate  armies. ^  \J 

Geographically  this  line  was  cut  into  three  sections  :  that 
in  Virginia,  that  in  Kentucky,  and  that  in  Missouri. 

Bull  Run.  —  General  Wintield  Scott  was  in  command  of  the 
Union  army.     Under  him  and  in  command  of  the  troops  about 
Washington  was   Gen- 
eral McDowell,  who  in 
July,  1861,  was  sent  to 
drive  back  the  Confed- 
erate line  in  Virginia. 
Marching  a  few  miles 
southwest,     McDowell 
met    General    Beaure- 
gard    near     Manassas, 
and  on  the  field  of  Bull 
Run   was    beaten    and 
his  army  put  to  flight. ^ 
The  battle  taught  the  North  that  the  war  would  not  end  in  three 
months ;  that  an  army  of  raw  troops  was  no  better  than  a  mob  ; . 
that  discipline  was  as  necessary  as  patriotism.     Thereafter  men  ^ 
were  enlisted  for  three  years  or  for  the  war. 

1  An  interesting  account  of  "  Scenes  in  Virginia  in  '61"  may  be  found  in 
Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  I,  pp.  160-166. 

2  "The  Confederate  army  was  more  disorganized  by  victory  than  that  of 
the  United  States  by  defeat,"  says  General  Johnston  ;  and  no  pursuit  of  the 
Union  forces  was  made.  "  The  larger  part  of  the  men,"  McDowell  telegraphed 
to  Washington,  "are  a  confused  mob,  entirely  disorganized."  None  stopped 
short  of  the  fortifications  along  the  Potomac,  and  numbers  entered  Washington. 
Read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  I,  pp.  229-239.  "  I  have  no 
idea  that  the  North  will  give  it  up,"  wrote  Stephens,  Vice  President  of  the  Con- 
federacy.    "  Their  defeat  will  increase  their  energy."     He  was  right. 


Stone  bridge  over  Bull  Run. 
Crossed  by  many  fleeing  Union  men. 


358 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


General  George  B.  McClellan^  was  now  put  in  command  of 
the  Union  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  spent  the  rest  of  1861, 
and  the  early  months  of  1862,  in  drilling  his  raw  volunteers. 

Confederate  Line  in  Kentucky  Driven  back,  1862.  —  In  Ken- 
tucky the  Confederate  line  stretched  across  the  southern  part 
of  the  state  as  shown  on  the  map.  Against  this  General 
Thomas  was  sent  in  January,  1862.  He  defeated  the  Con- 
\/  federates  at  Mill  Springs  near  the  eastern  end.     In  February 


iVCincinnati     | 


'l  A   B  A  IVu/a     \     G^^WJ  G  1^ 


V 


Driving  back  the  Confederate  line  in  the  West. 

General  U.  S.  Grant  and  Flag-Officer  Foote  were  sent  to  attack, 
by  land  and  water.  Forts  Donelson  and  Henry  near  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  line.  Foote  arrived  first  at  Fort  Henry  on  the 
Tennessee  and  captured  it.     Thereupon  Grant  marched  across 

1  George  Brinton  McClellan  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1826,  graduated 
from  West  Point,  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  resigned  from  the  array  in 
1857,  to  become  a  civil  engineer,  but  rejoined  it  at  the  opening  of  the  war. 
In  July,  1861,  he  conducted  a  successful  campaign  against  the  Confederates  in 
West  Virginia,  and  his  victories  there  were  the  cause  of  his  promotion  to  com- 
mand the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  After  the  battle  of  Antietam  (p.  368)  he 
took  no  further  part  in  the  war,  and  finally  resigned  in  1864.  From  1878  to 
1881  he  was  governor  of  New  Jersey.    He  died  in  1885. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1861-1863 


359 


country  to  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumberland,  and  after  three 
days'  sharp  fighting  forced  General  Buckner  to  surrender.  ^ 

Shiloh  or  Pittsburg  Landing.  — The  Confederate  line  was 
now  broken,  and  abandoning  Nashville  and  Columbus,  the 
Confederates  fell  back  toward 
Corinth  in  Mississippi.  The 
Union  army  followed  in  three 
parts. 

1.  One  under  General 
Curtis  moved  to  southwest- 
ern Missouri  and  won  a  bat- 
tle at  Pea  Ridge  (Arkansas). 

2.  Another  under  Gen- 
eral Pope  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  aided  Flag- 
Officer  Foote  in  the  capture 
of  Island  No.  10.2  xhe  fleet 
then  passed  down  the  river 
and  took  Fort  Pillow. 

3.  The  third  part  under  Grant  took  position  very  near 
Pittsburg  Landing,  at  Shiloh,^  where  it  was  attacked  and  driven 

1  Hiram  Ulysses  Grant  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1822,  and  at  seventeen  entered 
West  Point,  where  his  name  was  registered  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  and  as  such  he  was 
ever  after  known.  He  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  afterward  engaged  in 
business  of  various  sorts  till  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  when  he  was  made 
colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regiment,  and  then  commander  of  the  dis- 
trict of  southeast  Missouri.  When  General  Buckner,  who  commanded  at  Fort 
Donelson,  wrote  to  Grant  to  know  what  terms  he  would  offer.  Grant  replied : 
"No  terms  except  unconditional  and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted,  I 
propose  to  .move  immediately  upon  your  works."  This  won  for  Grant  the  pop- 
ular name  "Unconditional  Surrender"  Grant. 

Andrew  H.  Foote  was  born  in  Coimecticut  in  1806,  entered  the  navy  at 
sixteen,  and  when  the  war  opened,  was  made  flag  officer  of  the  Western  navy. 
His  gunboats  were  like  huge  rafts  carrying  a  house  with  flat  roof  and  sloping  sides 
that  came  down  to  the  water^s  edge.  The  sloping  sides  and  ends  were  covered 
with  iron  plates  and  pierced  for  guns  ;  three  in  the  bow,  two  in  the  stern,  and  four 
on  each  side.  The  huge  wheel  in  the  stern  which  drove  the  boat  was  under  cover  ; 
but  the  smoke  stacks  were  unprotected.     Foote  died  in  1863,  a  rear  admiral. 

2  The  islands  in  the  Mississippi  are  numbered  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
River  to  New  Orleans. 

3  Read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War^  Vol.  I,  pp.  465-486. 


Ulysses  t>.  Grant. 


360 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


back.  But  the  next  day,  being  strongly  reenforced,  General 
y  Grant  beat  the  Confederates,  who  retreated  to  Corinth.  General 
Halleck  now  took  command,  and  having  united  the  second  and 
third  parts  of  the  army,  took  Corinth  and  cut  off  Memphis, 
which  then  surrendered  to  the  fleet  in  the  river. 

Bragg's  Raid. — And  now  the  Confederates  turned  furiously. 
Their  army  under  General  Bragg,  starting  from  Chattanooga, 

rushed  across  Tennessee 
and  Kentucky  toward 
Louisville,  but  after  a  hot 
fight  with  General  Buell's 
army  at  Perryville  was 
forced  to  turn  back,  and 
went  into  winter  quarters 
at  Murfreesboro.i 

There  Bragg  was  at- 
tacked by  the  Union 
forces,  now  under  General 
Rosecrans,  was  beaten  in  V 
one  of  the  most  bloody 
battles  of  the  war  (Decem- 
ber 31,  1862,  and  January 
2,  1863),  and  was  forced  ^ 
to  retreat  further  south. 

New  Orleans,  1862.  — 
Both  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi as  far  south  as  the  Arkansas  were  by  this  time  in  Union 
hands.2  South  of  that  river  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
the  Confederates  still  held  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  (maps, 
pp.  353,  368).     But  New  Orleans  had  been  captured  in  April, 

1  Farther  west  the  Confederates  attacked  the  Union  army  at  Corinth 
(October  4),  but  were  defeated  by  General  Rosecrans. 

2  In  January,  1862,  the  Confederate  line  west  of  the  Mississippi  stretched 
from  Belmont  across  southern  Missouri  to  Indian  Territory;  but  Grant  drove  the 
Confederates  out  of  Belmont  ;  General  Curtis,  as  we  have  seen,  beat  them  at 
Pea  Ridge  (in  March),  and  when  the  year  ended,  the  Union  army  was  in  posses- 
sion of  northern  Arkansas. 


Northern  cavalryman. 

A  war-time  drawing  published  in  1863. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR.    1861-1863 


361 


1862,  by  a  naval  expedition  under  Farragut;  ^  and  the  city  was 
occupied  by  a  Union  army  under  General  Butler. ^ 

The  Peninsular 
Campaign,  1862.  — 
In  the  East  the 
year  opened  with 
great  preparation 
for  the  capture  of 
Richmond,  the 
Confederate  capi- 
tal. 

1.  Armies   un- 
^  der   P'remont    and 

Banks  in  the  Shen- 
andoah valley  were 
to  prevent  an  at- 
tack on  Washing- 
ton from  the  west. 

2.  An      army 


i^icfij^  NoiVolk 


War  in  the  East,  1862. 


under     McDowell 
was  to  be  ready  to 

1  David  G.  Farragut  was  born  in  1801,  and  when  eleven  years  old  served  on  the 
Essex  in  the  War  of  1812.  When  his  fleet  started  up  the  Mississippi  River, 
in  1802,  he  found  his  way  to  New  Orleans  blocked  by  two  forts,  St.  Philip 
and  Jackson,  by  chains  across  the  river  on  hulks  below  Fort  Jackson,  and  by  a 
fleet  of  ironclad  boats  above.  After  bombarding  the  forts  for  six  days,  he  cut 
the  chains,  ran  by  the  forts,  defeated  the  fleet,  and  went  up  to  New  Orleans, 
and  later  took  Baton  Rouge  and  Natchez.  For  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  he 
received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  was  made  a  rear  admiral ;  for  his  victory  in 
Mobile  Bay  (p.  379)  the  rank  of  vice  admiral  was  created  for  him,  and  in  1866  a 
still  higher  rank,  that  of  admiral,  was  made  for  him.     He  died  in  1870. 

2  When  it  was  known  in  New  Orleans  that  Farragut's  fleet  was  coming,  the 
cotton  in  the  yards  and  in  the  cotton  presses  was  hauled  on  drays  to  the  levee  and 
burned  to  prevent  its  falling  into  Union  hands.  The  capture  of  the  city  had  a 
great  effect  on  Great  Britain  and  France,  both  of  whom  the  Confederates  hoped 
would  intervene  to  stop  the  war.  Slidell,  who  was  in  France  seeking  recogni- 
tion for  the  Confederacy  as  an  independent  nation,  wrote  that  he  had  been  led 
to  believe  "that  if  New  Orleans  had  not  been  taken  and  we  suffered  no  very 
serious  reverses  in  Virginia  and  Tennessee,  our  recognition  would  very  soon 
have  been  declared."  Read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  II,  pp. 
14-21,  91-94. 


362 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 


march   from   Fredericksburg  to   Richmond,   when    the    proper 
time  came. 

3.  McClellan  was  to  take  the  largest  army  by  water  from 
Washington  to  Fort  Monroe,  and  then  march  up  the  peninsula 
formed  by  the  York  and  James  rivers  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Richmond,  where  McDowell  was  to  join  him. 

Landing  at  the  lower  end  of  the  peninsula  early  in  April, 
McClellan  moved  northward  to  Yorktown,  and  captured  it  after 
a  long  siege.  McClellan  then  hurried  up  the  peninsula  after 
the  retreating  enemy,  and  on  the  way  fought  and  won  a  battle 
at  Williamsburg.  1 

The  Shenandoah  Campaign,  1862.  —  It  was  now  expected 
that  McDowell,  who  had  been  guarding  Washington,  would  join 
McClellan,  but  General  T.  J.  Jackson  ^  (Stonewall  Jackson), 
who  commanded   the   Confederate   forces  in  the  Shenandoah, 

rushed  down  the  valley  and 
drove  Banks  across  the  Poto- 
mac into  Maryland.  This  suc- 
cess alarmed  the  authorities  at 
Washington,  and  McDowell 
was  held  in  northern  Virginia 
to  protect  the  capital.  Part  of 
his  troops,  with  those  of  Banks 
and  Fremont,  were  dispatched 
against  Jackson;  but  Jackson 
won  several  battles  and  made 
good  his  escape. 

End  of  Peninsular  Campaign. 

—  Though  deprived  of  the  aid 

Thomas  J.  Jackson.  of  McDowell,  General  McClellan 


iThe  story  of  the  march  is  interestingly  told  in  "Recollections  of  a  Pri- 
vate," in  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  II,  pp.  189-199. 

2  Thomas  J.  Jackson  was  born  in  West  Virginia  in  1824,  graduated  from 
West  Point,  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  resigned  from  the  army,  and  till  1861 
taught  in  the  Virginia  State  Military  Institute  at  Lexington.  He  then  joined 
the  Confederate  army,  and  for  the  firm  stand  of  his  brigade  at  Bull  Run  gained 
the  name  of  "Stonewall." 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1861-1863 


363 


moved  westward  to  within  eight  or  ten  miles  of  Richmond ;  but 

the  Confederate  General  J.  E.  Johnston  now  attacked  him  at 

Fair  Oaks.     A  few  weeks  later  General  R.  E.  Lee,i  who  had 

succeeded  Johnston  in  command,  was  joined  by  Jackson;  the 

Confederates    then    attacked 

McClellan   at   Mechanicsville 

and  Gaines  Mill  and  forced 

him  to  retreat,  fighting  as  he 

went  (June  26  to  July  1),  to 

Harrisons     Landing    on    the 

James  River.  There  the  Union 

army   remained   till   August, 

when  it  went  back  by  water 

to  the  Potomac. 

Lee's  Raid ;  Battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  1862.  —  The  departure 
of  the  Union  army  from  Har- 
risons Landing  left  General 
Lee  free  to  do  as  he  chose, 
and  seizing  the  opportunity 
he  turned  against  the  Union 
forces  under  General  Pope,  whose  army  was  drawn  up  be- 
tween Cedar  Mountain  and  Fredericksburg,  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock River.  Stonewall  Jackson  first  attacked  General  Banks 
at  the  western  end  of  the  line  at  Cedar  Mountain,  and  beat  him. 
Jackson  and  Lee  then  fell  upon  General  Pope  on  the  old  field 
of  Bull  Run,  beat  him,  and  forced  him  to  fall  back  to  Washing- 
ton, where  his  army  was  united  with  that  of  McClellan. ^  This 
done,  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  and  entered  Maryland.     McClel- 

1  Robert  E.  Lee  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1807,  a  son  of  "  Light  Horse  " 
Harry  Lee  of  the  Revolutionary  army.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and 
served  in  the  Mexican  War.  After  Virginia  seceded  he  left  the  Union  army  and 
was  appointed  a  major  general  of  Virginia  troops,  and  in  1862  became  commander 
in  chief.  At  the  end  of  the  war  he  accepted  the  presidency  of  Washington 
College  (now  Washington  and  Lee  University),  and  died  in  Lexington,  Virginia, 
in  1870. 

2  Part  of  McClellan's  army  had  joined  Pope  before  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Run. 


Robert  E.  Lee. 


364  THE   LONG    STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 

Ian  attacked  him  at  Antietam  Creek  (September,  1862),  where 
a  bloody  battle  was  fought  (sometimes  called  the  battle  of 
Sharpsburg).  Lee  was  beaten  ;  but  McClelian  did  not  prevent 
his  recrossing  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.^ 

Fredericksburg,  1862.  —  McHlellan  was  now  removed,  and 
General  A.  E.  Burnside  put  tiTcommand.  The  Confederates 
meantime  had  taken  position  on  Marye's  Heights  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Rappahannock,  behind  Fredericksburg.  The  posi- 
tion was  impregnable  ;  but  in  December  Burnside  attacked  it 
and  was  repulsed  with  dreadful  slaughter.  The  two  armies 
then  went  into  winter  quarters  with  the  Rappahannock  between 
them. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation.  —  Ever  since  the  opening 
of  the  year  1862,  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  loyal  states  and 
in  the  territories  had  been  constantly  before  Congress.  In 
April  Congress  abolished  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  set  free  the  slaves  there  with  compensation  to  the  owners. 
vln  June  it  abolished  slavery  in  the  territories  and  freed  the 
slaves  there  without  compensation  to  the  owners,  and  in  July 
authorized  the  seizure  of  slaves  of  persons  then  in  rebellion. 

In  March  Lincoln  had  asked  Congress  to  help  pay  for  the 
slaves  in  the  loyal  slave  states,  if  these  states  would  abolish 
slavery ;  but  neither  Congress  nor  the  states  adopted  the  plan. 2 
Lincoln  now  determined,  as  an  act  of  war,  to  free  the  slaves  in 
the  Confederate  states,  and  when  the  armies  of  l^e  and  McClelian 
stood  face  to  face  at  Antietam,  he  decided,  if  Lee  was  beaten, 
to  issue  an  emancipation  proclamation.  Lee  was  beaten,  and 
on  September  22,  1^62,  the  proclamation  came  forth  declaring 
that  on  January  1,  1863,  "  all  persons  held  as  slaves  "  in  any 
state  or  part  of  a  state  then  "in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforth,  and  forever  free."  The 
Confederate  states  did  not  return  to  their  allegiance,  and  on 

1  Read  "  A  Woman's  Recollections  of  Antietam,"  in  Battles  and  Leaders  of 
the  Civil  War,  Vol.  II,  pp.  G86-695  ;  also  O.  W.  Holmes's  My  Hunt  after  ''The 
Captain.'''' 

2  West  Virginia  and  Missouri  later  (1863)  provided  for  gradual  emancipation, 
and  Maryland  (1864)  adopted  a  constitution  that  abolished  slavery. 


THE   CIVIL  WAR,    1861-1863  365 

Januarj^ij^^^J^  a  second  proclamation  was  issued,  declaring 
the  slaves  within  the  Confederate  lines  to  be  free  men. 

Part  of  the  autograph  copy  of  Lincoln's  proclaniation  of  January  i,  1863. 

1.  Lincoln   did  not  abolish  slavery  anywhere.     He   eman- 
\    cipated  certain  slaves. 

2.  His  proclamation  did  not  apply  to  the  loyal  slave  states 
^  — Delaware,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Missouri. 

3.  It  did  not  apply  to  such  Confederate  territory  as  the 
^7  Union  armies  had  conquered;  namely,  Tennessee,  seven  counties 

in  Virginia,  and  thirteen  parishes  in  Louisiana. 

4.  Lincoln  freed  the  slaves  by  virtue  of  his  authority  as 
H  commander  in  chief  of  the  Union  armies,  "  and  as  a  fit  and 

necessary  war  measure." 

SUMMARY 

1.  In  1860  and  1861  seven  cotton  states  seceded,  formed  the  Confed- 
erate States  of  America,  and  elected  Jefferson  Davis  President. 

2.  The  capture  of  Fort  Sumter  (April,  1861)  and  Lincoln's  call  for  troops 
were  followed  by  the  secession  of  four  more  Southern  states. 

3.  In  1861  an  attempt  was  made  to  drive  back  the  Confederate  line  in 
Virginia;  but  this  ended  in  disaster  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run. 

4.  In  1862  the  Peninsular  Campaign  failed.  Pope  was  defeated  at  Bull 
Run,  Lee's  invasion  of  Maryland  was  ended  by  the  battle  of  Antietam,  and 
Burnside  met  defeat  at  Fredericksburg. 

5.  In  the  West  in  1862  the  Confederate  line  was  forced  back  to  northern 
Mississippi,  and  New  Orleans  was  captured.  Great  battles  were  fought  at 
Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Perryville,  and  Murfreesboro. 

6.  On  January  1,  1863,  President  Lincoln  declared  free  the  slaves  in  the 
states  and  parts  of  states  held  by  the  Confederates. 

MoM.   BRIEF  —  22 


CHAPTER   XXIX 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1863-18G5 

The  Gettysburg  Campaign,  1863.  —  After  the  defeatat_Ei:£.d- 
ericksburg,  Burnside  was  removed,  and  Gejieral  Hooker  put 
in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.     "Fighting  Joe,"  as 

Hooker  was  called,  led 
his  army  of  130,000 
men  against  _Lee  and 
Jackson,  and  after  a 
stubborn  fight  at  Chan- 
cellorsville  (May  1-4, 
1863)  was  beaten  and 
fell  back.i  In  June 
Lee  once  more  took  the 
offensive,  rushed  down 
the  Shenandoah  valley 
to  the  Potomac  River, 
crossed  Maryland,  and 
entered  Pennsylvania 
with  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  in  hot  pur- 
suit. On  reaching  Mary- 
land General  Hooker 
was  removed  and  Gen- 
eral Meade  put  in  com- 
mand. 


War  in  the  East,  i863-<55. 


On  the  hills  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  the  two  armies 
met,  and  there  (July  1-3)  Lee  j-ttacked  Meade.     The  struggle 

1  Jackson  was  mortally  wounded  by  a  volley  from  his  own  men,  who  mis- 
took him  and  his  escort  for  Union  cavalry,  in  the  dusk  of  evening  of  the  second 
day  at  Chancellorsville.  His  last  words  were:  "  Let  us  cross  over  the  river  and 
rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees." 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1863-1865 


367 


was  desperate.  About  one  fourth  of  the  men  engaged  were 
killed  or  wounded.  But  the  splendid  valor  of  the  Union  army 
prevailed,  and  Lee  was  beaten  and  forced  to  return  to  Virginia, 
where  he  remained  unmolested  till  the  spring  of  1864.1  '];ijg 
battle  of  Gettysburg  ended  Lee's  plan  for  carrying  the  war  into  v/ 
the  North,  and  from  the  losses  on  that  field  his  army  never 
fully  recovered. 2 


Battle  of  Gettysburg.     Contemporary  drawing. 

1  Read  "  The  Third  Day  at  Gettysburg"  in  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil 
War,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  369-385.  The  field  of  Gettysburg  is  now  a  national  park 
dotted  with  monuments  erected  in  memory  of  the  dead,  and  marking  the  posi- 
tions of  the  regiments  and  spots  where  desperate  fighting  occurred.  Near  by  is 
a  national  cemetery  in  which  are  interred  several  thousand  Union  soldiers.  Read 
President  Lincoln's  beautiful  Gettysburg  Address. 

2  With  the  exception  of  a  small  body  of  regulars,  the  Union  armies  were 
composed  of  volunteers.  When  it  became  apparent  that  the  war  would  not  end 
in  a  few  months,  Congress  passed  a  Draft  Act :  whenever  a  congressional  district 
failed  to  furnish  the  required  number  of  volunteers,  the  names  of  able-bodied 
men  not  already  in  the  army  were  to  be  put  into  a  box,  and  enough  names  to 
complete  the  number  were  to  be  drawn  out  by  a  blindfolded  man.  In  July, 
1863,  when  this  was  done  in  New  York  city,  a  riot  broke  out  and  for  several 
days  the  city  was  mob-ruled.  Negroes  were  killed,  property  was  destroyed,  and 
the  rioters  were  not  put  down  till  troops  were  sent  by  the  government. 


368 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE   AGAINST  SLAVERY 


The  Vicksburg  campaign. 


Vicksburg, 1863. — In 
January,  1863,  the  Confed- 
erates held  the  Mississippi 
River  only  from  Vicksburg 
to  Port  Hudson.  The  cap- 
ture of  these  two  towns 
would  complete  the  opening 
of  the  river.  Grant,  there- 
fore, determined  to  capture 
Vicksburg.  The  town  stands 
on  the  top  of  a  bluff  which 
rises  straight  and  steep  from 
the  river,  and  had  been  so 
strongly  fortified  on  the  land 
side  that  to  take  it  seemed 
impossible.  Grant,  having 
failed  in  a  direct  advance 
through    Mississippi,   cut   a 

canal  across  a  bend  in  the  river,  on  the  west  bank,  hoping  to 

divert  the  waters  and  get  a  passage  by  the  town.     This,  too, 

failed ;  and  he  then  de- 
cided to  cross  below  Vicks- 
burg and  attack  by  land. 

To    aid    him.     Admiral 

Porter   ran   his    gunboats 

past  the  town  on  a  night 

in  April  and  carried   the 

army    across     the     river. 

Landing  on  the  east  bank, 

Grant   won   a   victory    at 

Port  Gibson,  and  hearing 

that   J.  E.   Johnston  was 

coming  to  help  Pemberton,  Grant's  headquarters  near  Vicksburg. 

pushed    in    between    them.  From  a  recent  photograph. 

beat  Johnston,  and  turning  against  Pemberton  drove  him  into 
^  Vicksburg.     After  a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  in  which  Vicksburg 


THE  CIVIL  WAR.   1863-1865 


369 


suffered  severely  from  bombardment  and  famine,  Pemberton  \y 
surrendered  the  town  and  army  July  4,  1863. 

In  less  than  a  week  (July  9)  Port  Hudson  surrendered, 
the  Mississippi  was  opened  from  source  to  mouth,  and  the  Con- 
federacy was  cut  in  two. 

Chickamauga,  1863. • — While  Grant  was  besieging  Vicks- 
burg,  Rosecrans  forced  a  Confederate  army  under  Bragg  to 
quit  its  position  south  of  Murfreesboro,  and  then  to  leave 
Chattanooga  and  retire  into  northern  Georgia.     There  Bragg 


War  in  the  West,  1863-65,  and  on  the  coast. 

was  reen forced,  and  he  then  attacked  Rosecrans  in  the  Chicka- 
mauga valley  (September  19  and  20,  1863),  where  was  fought 
one  of  the  most  desperate  battles  of  the  war.  The  Union  right 
wing  was  driven  from  the  field,  but  the  left  wing  under  Gen- 
eral Thomas  held  the  enemy  in  check  and  saved  the  army  from 
rout.  By  his  firmness  Thomas  won  the  name  of  "  the  Rock  of 
Chickamauga." 

Chattanooga.  —  Rosecrans  now  went  back  to  Chattanooga. 
Bragg  followed,  and,  taking  position  on  the  hills  and  mountains 
which  surround  the  town  on  the  east  and  south,  shut  in  the 
Union  army  and  besieged  it.     Hooker  was  sent  from  Virginia 


370 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


William  T.  Sherman. 

Sherman   (November  24  and 


with  more  troops,  Sherman^ 
brought  an  army  from  Vicks- 
burg,  Rosecrans  was  replaced 
by  Thomas,  and  Grant  was  put 
in  command  of  all.  Then  mat- 
ters changed.  The  troops  un- 
der Thomas  (November  23) 
seized  some  low  hills  at  the 
foot  of  Missionary  Ridge,  east 
of  Chattanooga.  Hooker  (No- 
vember 24)  carried  the  Con- 
federate works  on  Lookout 
Mountain,  southwest  of  the 
town,  in  a  fight  often  called 
"the  Battle  above  the  Clouds." 
25)  attacked  the  northern  end 


of  Missionary  Ridge.     Thomas  (November  25)  thereupon  car- 


1  William  Tecumseh  Sher- 
man was  born  in  Ohio  in  1820, 
graduated  from  West  Point, 
and  served  in  the  Seminole 
and  Mexican  wars.  He  be- 
came a  banker  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, then  a  lawyer  in  Kansas, 
in  1860  superintendent  of  a 
military  school  in  Louisiana, 
and  then  president  of  a  street 
car  company  in  St.  Louis.  In 
1861  he  was  appointed  colonel 
in  the  regular  army.  He 
fought  at  Bull  Run,  was  made 
brigadier  general  of  volunteers, 
and  was  transferred  to  the 
West,  where  he  rose  rapidly. 
After  the  war.  Grant  was  made 
general  of  the  army,  and  Sher- 
man lieutenant  general ;  and 
when  Grant  became  President, 
Sherman  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  general.  He  was  re- 
tired in  1884  and  died  in  1891 
at  New  York. 


Charging  up  Missionary  Ridge. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,   1863-1865  371 

ried  the  heights  of  Missionary  Ridge,  and  drove  off  the  enemy. 
Bragg  retreated  to  Dalton  in  northwestern  Georgia,  where  the 
command  of  his  army  was  given  to  General  J.  E.  Johnston. 

The  Plan  of  Campaign,  1864.  —  The  Confederates  had  now 
but  two  great  armies  left.  One  under  Lee  was  lying  quietly 
behind  the  Rappahannock  and  Rapidan  rivers,  protecting 
Richmond  ;  the  other  under  J.  E.  Johnston  ^  was  at  Dalton, 
Georgia.  The  two  generals  chosen  to  lead  the  Union  1/ 
armies  against  these  forces  were  Grant  and 
Sherman.  Grant  (now  lieutenant  general  and 
in  command  of  all  the  armies)  with  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  was  to  drive  Lee  back  and  take 
Richmond.  Sherman  with  the  forces  under 
Thomas,  McPherson,  and  Schofield  was  to  at- 
tack Johnston  and  enter  Georgia.  The  Union 
soldiers  outnumbered  the  Confederates. 

Marching  through  Georgia.  —  On  May  4, 
1864,  accordingly,  Sherman  moved  forward 
against  Johnston,  flanked  him  out  of  Dalton, 
and  drove  him,  step  by  step,  through  the  mountains  to  Atlanta. 
Johnston's  retreat  forced  Sherman  to  weaken  his  army  by 
leaving  guards  in  the  rear  to  protect  the  railroads  on  which  he 
depended  for  supplies  ;  Johnston  intended  to  attack  when  he 
could  fight  on  equal  terms.  But  his  retreat  displeased  Davis, 
and  at  Atlanta  he  was  replaced  by  General  Hood,  who  was  ex- 
pected to  fight  at  once. 

In  July  Hood  made  three  furious  attacks,  was  repulsed, 
and  in  September  left  Atlanta  and  started  northward.  His 
purpose  was  to  draw  Sherman  out  of   Georgia,  but  Sherman 

1  Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1807,  graduated  from 
West  Point,  and  served  in  the  Black  Hawk,  Seminole,  and  Mexican  wars.  When 
the  Civil  War  opened,  he  joined  the  Confederacy,  was  made  a  major  general,  and 
with  Beauregard  commanded  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Johnston  was  next 
put  in  charge  of  the  operations  against  McClellan  (1862)  ;  but  was  wounded  at 
Fair  Oaks  and  succeeded  by  Lee.  In  1863  he  was  sent  to  relieve  Vicksburg, 
but  failed.  In  1864  he  was  put  in  command  of  Bragg's  array  after  its  defeat, 
and  so  became  opposed  to  Sherman. 


372 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


sent  Thomas  with  part  of  the  army  into  Tennessee,  and  after 
following  Hood  for  a  while,^  turned  back  to  Atlanta. 

After  partly  burning  the  town,  Sherman  started  for  the 
seacoast  in  November,  tearing  up  the  railroads,  burning 
bridges,  and  living  on  the  country  as  he  went.^  In  December 
Fort  McAllister  was  taken  and  Savannah 
occupied. 

Grant  and  Lee  in  Virginia,  1864.  —  On  the 
same  day  in  May,  1864,  on  which  Sherman  set 
out  to  attack  Johnston  in  Georgia,  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  began  the  campaign  in  Vir- 
ginia. General  Meade  was  in  command  ;  but 
Grant,  as  commander  in  chief  of  all  the  Union 
armies,  directed  the  campaign  in  person. 
Crossing  the  Rapidan,  the  army  entered  the 
Wilderness,  a  stretch  of  country  covered  with 
dense  woods  of  oak  and  pine  and  thick  under- 
growth. Lee  attacked,  and  for  several  days 
the  fighting  was  almost  incessant.  But  Grant 
pushed  on  to  Spottsylvania  Court  House  and 
to  Cold  Harbor,  where  bloody  battles  were 
fought ;  and  then  went  south  of  Richmond 
and  besieged  Petersburg.^ 


Rail  twisted  around 
pole  by  Sher- 
man's men. 

In  the  possession  of 
the  Long  Island 
Historical  Society. 


1  Early  in  October  Hood  had  reached  Dallas  on  his  way  to  Tennessee.  From 
Dallas  he  sent  a  division  to  capture  a  garrison  and  depots  at  Allatoona,  com- 
manded by  General  Corse.  Sherman,  who  was  following  Hood,  communicated 
with  Corse  from  the  top  of  Kenesaw  Mountain  by  signals  ;  and  Corse,  though 
greatly  outnumbered,  held  the  fort  and  drove  off  the  enemy.  On  this  incident 
was  founded  the  popular  hymn  Hold  the  Fort^  for  I  am  Coming. 

2  To  destroy  the  railroads  so  they  could  not  be  quickly  rebuilt,  the  rails, 
heated  red-hot  in  fires  made  of  burning  ties,  were  twisted  around  trees  or  telegraph 
poles.  Stations,  machine  shops,  cotton  bales,  cotton  gins  and  presses  were  burned. 
Along  the  line  of  march,  a  strip  of  country  sixty  miles  wide  was  made  desolate. 

8  While  the  siege  of  Petersburg  was  under  way,  a  tunnel  was  dug  and  a  mine 
exploded  under  a  Confederate  work  called  Elliott's  Salient  (July  30,  1864).  As 
soon  as  the  mass  of  flying  earth,  men,  guns,  and  carriages  had  settled,  a  body  of 
Union  troops  moved  forward  through  the  break  thus  made  in  the  enemy's  line. 
But  the  assault  was  badly  managed.  The  Confederates  rallied,  and  the  Union 
forces  were  driven  back  into  the  crater  made  by  the  explosion,  where  many  were 
killed  and  1400  captured. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,    1863-1865 


373 


Early's  Raid,  1864.  —  Lee  now  sought  to  divert  Grant  by 
an  attack  on  Washington,  and  sent  General  Early  down  the 
Shenandoah  valley.  Early  crossed 
the  Potomac,  entered  Maryland, 
won  a  battle  at  the  Monocacy 
River,  and  actually  threatened  the 
defenses  of  Washington,  but  was 
forced  to  retreat.^ 

To  stop  these  attacks  Grant  sent 
Sheridan  2  into  the  valley,  where 
he  defeated  Early  at  Winchester 
and  at  Fishers  Hill  and  again  at 
Cedar  Creek.  It  was  during  this 
last  battle  that  Sheridan  made  his 
famous  ride  from  Winchester.^  Piiiiip  H-  Sheridan. 


1  On  October  19,  1864,  St.  Albans,  a  town  in  Vermont  near  the  Canadian 
border,  was  raided  by  Confederates  from  Canada.  They  seized  all  the  horses 
they  could  find,  robbed  the  banks,  and  escaped.  A  little  later  the  people  of 
Detroit  were  excited  by  a  rumor  that  their  city  was  to  be  raided  on  October  30. 
Great  preparations  for  defense  were  made  ;  but  no  enemy  came. 

2  Philip  H.  Sheridan  was  born  at  Albany,  New  York,  in  1831,  graduated 
from  West  Point,  and  was  in  Missouri  when  the  war  opened.  In  1862  he  was 
given  a  command  in  the  cavalry,  fought  in  the  West,  and  before  the  year  closed 
was  made  a  brigadier  and  then  major  general  for  gallantry  in  action.  At 
Chattanooga  he  led  the  charge  up  Missionary  Ridge.  After  the  war  he  be- 
came lieutenant  general  and  then  general  of  the  army,  and  died  in  1888. 

8  Sheridan  had  spent  the  night  at  Winchester,  and  as  he  rode  toward  his 
camp  at  Cedar  Creek,  he  met  such  a  crowd  of  wagons,  fugitives,  and  wounded 
men  that  he  was  forced  to  take  to  the  fields.  At  Newtown,  the  streets 
were  so  crowded  he  could  not  pass  through  them.  Riding  around  the  village, 
he  met  Captain  McKinley  (afterward  President),  who,  says  Sheridan,  "spread 
the  news  of  my  return  through  the  motley  throng  there."  Between  Newtown 
and  Middletown  he  met  "the  only  troops  in  the  presence  of  and  resisting  the 
enemy.  .  .  .  Jumping  my  horse  over  the  line  of  rails,  I  rode  to  the  crest  of  the 
elevation  and  .  .  .  the  men  rose  up  from  behind  their  barricade  with  cheers  of 
recognition."  When  he  rode  to  another  part  of  the  field,  "a  line  of  rfegimental 
flags  rose  up  out  of  the  ground,  as  it  seemed,  to  welcome  me."  With  these  flags 
was  Colonel  Hayes  (afterward  President),  Hurrying  to  another  place,  he  came 
upon  some  divisions  marching  to  the  front.  When  the  men  "saw  me,  they  be- 
gan cheering  and  took  up  the  double-quick  to  the  front."  Crossing  the  pike,  he 
rode,  hat  ip  hand,  "along  the  entire  line  of  infantry,"  shouting,  "We  are  all 
right.  .  .  .  Never  mind,  boys,  we'll  whip  them  yet.  We  shall  sleep  in  our 
quarters  to-night."    And  they  did.    Read  Sheridan's  Bide  by  T.  Buchanan  Read. 


374  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

The  Situation  early  in  1865. — By  1865,  Union  fleets  and 
armies  had  seized  many  Confederate  strongholds  on  the  coast. 
In  the  West,  Thomas  had  destroyed  Hood's  army  in  the  great 
battle  of  Nashville  (December,  1864).     In  the  East,  Grant  was 
steadily  pressing  the  siege  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and 
Sherman  was  making  ready  to  advance  northward  from  Savan- 
nah.    The  cause  of  the  Confederacy  was  so  desperate  that  in 
February,  1865,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  Vice  President  of  the 
^    Confederate   States,  was  sent  to  meet   Lincoln  and  Secretary 
Seward  and  discuss  terms  of  peace.     Lincoln  demanded  three 
,1     things :  the  disbanding  of  the  Confederate  armies,  the  submis- 
^    sion  of   the  seceded  states  to  the  rule  of  Congress,  and  the 
^    abolition  of  slavery.     The  terms  were  not  accepted,  and  the  war 
went  on. 

Sherman  marches  northward,  1865. — After  resting  for  a 
month  at  Savannah,  Sherman  started  northward  through  South 
Carolina,  (February  17)  entered  Columbia,  the  capital  of  the 
state,  and  forced  the  Confederates  to  evacuate  Charleston.  To 
oppose  him,  a  new  army  was  organized  and  put  under  the  com- 
mand of  Johnston.  But  Sherman  pressed  on,  entered  North 
Carolina,  and  reached  Goldsboro  in  safety. 

The  Surrender  of  Lee,  1865. —  Early  in  April,  Lee  found  him- 
self unable  to  hold  Richmond  and  Petersburg  any  longer.  He 
retreated  westward.  Grant  followed,  and  on  A^ril  9J865,  Lee 
surrendered  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  seventy-five  miles 
west  of  Richmond. 1 

Fall  of  the  Confederacy. — The  Confederacy  then  went  rap- 
idly to  pieces.  Johnston  surrendered  to  Sherman  near  Raleigh 
on  April  26;  Jefferson  Davis  w^as  captured  at  Irwinville, 
Georgia,  on  May  10,  and  the  war  on  land  was  over. 2 

Reelection  of  Lincoln.  —  While  the  war  was  raging,  the  time 
again  came  to  elect  a  President  and  Vice  President.  The  Re- 
publicans nominated  Lincoln  and  Andrew  Johnson.    The  Demo- 

1  Read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  729-746. 

2  On  the  flight  of  Davis  from  Richmond,  read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the 
Civil  War,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  762-767  ;  or  the  Century  Magazine ,  November,  1883. 


V 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,   1863-1865  375 

crats  selected  General  McClellan  and  George  H.  Pendleton. 
Lincoln  and  Johnson  were  elected  and  on  March  4,  1865,  were 
inaugurated. 

Death  of  Lincoln.  —  On  the  night  of  April  14,  the  fourth 
anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  Anderson  marched  out  of 
Fort  Sumter,  while  Lincoln  was  seated  with  his  wife  and  some 
friends  in  a  box  at  Ford's  Theater  in  Washington,  he  was  shot 
by  an  actor  who  had  stolen  up  behind  him.^  The  next  morning 
he  died,  and  Andrew  Johnson  became  President. 

1  After  firing  the  shot,  the  assassin  waved  his  pistol  and  shouted  "  Sic  semper 
tyrannis  "  —  "  Thus  be  it  ever  to  tyrants"  (the  motto  of  the  state  of  Virginia) — 
and  jumped  from  the  box  to  the  stage.  But  his  spur  caught  in  an  American  flag 
which  draped  the  box,  and  he  fell  and  broke  his  leg.  Limping  off  the  stage,  he 
fled  from  the  theater,  mounted  a  horse  in  waiting,  and  escaped  to  Virginia. 
There  he  was  found  hidden  in  a  barn  and  shot.  The  body  of  the  Martyr  Presi- 
dent was  borne  from  Washington  to  Springfield,  by  the  route  he  took  when  com- 
ing to  his  first  inauguration  in  1861.     Read  Walt  Whitman's  poem  My  Captain. 

SUMMARY 

1.  In  1863,  Lee  repulsed  an  advance  by  Hooker's  army,  and  invaded 
Pennsylvania,  but  was  defeated  by  Meade  at  Gettysburg. 

2.  1\\  the  West,  Grant  took  Vicksburg,  and  the  Mississippi  was  opened 
to  the  sea.  The  Confederates  defeated  Rosecrans  at  Chickamauga,  but 
were  defeated  by  Grant  and  other  generals  at  Chattanooga. 

3.  In  1864,  Grant  moved  across  Virginia,  after  much  hard  fighting,  and 
besieged  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  Sherman  marched  across  Georgia 
to  Savannah. 

4.  In  1865,  Sherman  marched  northward  into  North  Carolina,  and 
Grant  forced  Lee  to  leave  Richmond  and  surrender. 

5.  In  1864,  Lincoln  was  reelected. 

6.  In  April,  1865,  Lincoln  was  assassinated  and  Johnson  became 
President. 


Sharpshooter's  rifle  used  in  the  Civil  War. 

With  telescope  sight.    Weight,  82  lb. 


CHAPTER   XXX 


,THE  NAYY  IN  THE   WAR;     LIFE   IN   WAR  TIMES 

The  Southern  Coast  Blockade.  —  The  naval  war  began  with 
a  proclamation  of   Davis  offering  commissions  to  privateers,^ 

and  two  by  Lincoln 
(April  19  and  27, 
1861),  declaring  the 
coast  blockaded  from 
Virginia  to  Texas. 

The  object  of  the 
blockade  was  to  cut 
off  the  foreign  trade 
of  the  Southern  states, 
and  to  prevent  their 
getting  supplies  of  all 
sorts.     But  as  Great 


Sinking  the  Petrel.   Contemporary  drawing. 


Britain  was  one  of  the  chief  consumers  of  Southern  cotton,  and 
was,  indeed,  dependent  on  the 
South  for  her  supply,  it  was 
certain  that  unless  the  block- 
ade was  made  effective  by 
many  Union  ships,  cotton 
would  be  carried  out  of  the 
Southern  ports,  and  supplies 
run  into  them,  in  spite  of 
Lincoln's  proclamation. 

Running  the  Blockade.  — 

This  is   just  what  was  done.  Cartoon  published  in  i86i. 

1  The  first  Confederate  privateer  to  get  to  sea  was  the  Savannah.  She  took 
one  prize  and  was  captured.  Another,  the  Beauregard.,  was  taken  after  a  short 
cruise.  A  third,  the  Petrel.,  mistook  the  frigate  St.  Lawrence  for  a  merchant- 
man and  attempted  to  take  her,  but  was  sunk  by  a  broadside.  After  a  ye9,r  the 
blockade  stopped  privateering. 

376 


THE   NAVY   IN   THE   WAR  377 

Goods  of  all  sorts  were  brought  from  Great  Britain  to  the  city  of 
Nassau  in  the  Bahama  Islands  (map,  p.  353).  There  the  goods  1/ 
were  placed  on  board  blockade  runners  and  started  for  Wil- 
mington in  North  Carolina,  or  for  Charleston.  So  nicely  would 
the  voyage  be  timed  that  the  vessel  would  be  off  the  port  some 
night  when  the  moon  did  not  shine.  Then,  with  all  lights  out, 
the  runner  would  dash  through  tlie  line  of  blockading  ships, 
and,  if  successful,  would  by  daylight  be  safe  in  port.  The 
cargo  landed,  cotton  would  be  taken  on  board  ;  and  the  first 
dark  night,  or  during  a  storm,  the  runner,  again  breaking  the 
blockade,  would  steam  back  to  Nassau. 

The  Trent  Affair.  —  Great  Britain  and  France  promptly 
acknowledged  the  Confederate  States  as  belligerents.  This 
gave  them  the  same  rights  in  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  and 
France  as  our  vessels  of  war.  Hoping  to  secure  a  recognition 
of  independence  from  these  countries,  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment sent  Mason  and  Slidell  to  Europe.  These  two  commis- 
sioners ran  the  blockade,  went  to  Havana,  and  boarded^'the  . 
British  mail  steamship  Trent.  Captain  Wilkes"  of  the  United 
States  man-of-war  San  Jacinto^  hearing  of  this,  stopped  the 
Trent  and  took  off  Mason  and  Slidell.  Intense  excitement 
followed  in  our  country  and  in  Great  Britain,^  which  at  once 
demanded  their  release  and  prepared  for  war.  They  were  re- 
leased, and  the  act  of  Wilkes  was  disavowed  as  an  exercise  of  i/ 
"  the  right  of  search  "  which  we  had  always  resisted  when  exer- 
cised by  Great  Britain,  and  which  had  been  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  War  of  1812. 

The  Cruisers.  —  While  the  commerce  of  the  Confederacy 
was  almost  destroyed  by  the  blockade,  a  fleet  of  Confederate 
cruisers  attacked  the  commerce  of  the  Union. 

The  most  famous  of  these,  the  Florida^  Alabama,  Georgia, 

1  Captain  Wilkes  was  congratulated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  thanked 
by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  given  a  grand  banquet  in  Boston  ;  and  the 
whole  country  was  jubilant.  The  British  minister  at  Washington  was  directed 
to  demand  the  liberation  of  the  prisoners  and  "a  suitable  apology  for  the  ag- 
gression," and  if  not  answered  in  seven  days,  or  if  unfavorably  answered,  was 
to  return  to  London  at  once. 


378 


THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 


and  Shenandoah^  were  built  or  purchased  in  Great  Britain  for 
the  Confederacy,  and  were  suffered  to  put  to  sea  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  the  United  States  minister.  Once  on  the  ocean  they 
cruised  from  sea  to  sea,  destroying  every  merchant  vessel  under 
our  flag  that  came  in  their  way. 

One  of  them,  the  Alabama^  sailed  the  ocean  unharmed  for 

two  years.  She  cruised  in 
the  North  Atlantic,  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  the  Car- 
ibbean Sea,  off  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  went  around  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  entered  the 
China  Sea,  came  again  around 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
by  way  of  Brazil  and  the 
Azores  to  Cherbourg  in 
France.  During  the  cruise 
she  destroyed  over  sixty  mer- 
chantmen. At  Cherbourg  the 
Alabama  was  found  by  the 
United  States  cruiser  Kear- 
sarge^  and  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing in  June,  1864,  the  two 
met  in  battle  off  the  coast  of 
France,  and  the  Alabama  was 
sunk.  2 


Shell  lodged  in  the  stern  post  of  the 
Kearsarge. 

Now  in  the  Ordnance  Museuna,  Washington 
Navy  Yard. 


1  Early  in  the  war  an  agent  was  sent  to  Great  Britain  by  the  Confederate  navy 
department  to  procure  vessels  to  be  used  as  commerce  destroyers.  The  Florida 
and  Alabama  were  built  at  Liverpool  and  sent  to  sea  unarmed.  Their  guns  and 
ammunition  were  sent  in  vessels  from  another  British  port.  The  Shenandoah 
was  purchased  at  London  (her  name  was  then  the  Sea  King)  and  was  met  at 
Madeira  by  a  tender  from  Liverpool  with  men  and  guns.  On  her  way  to  Australia, 
the  Shenandoah  destroyed  seven  of  our  merchantmen.  She  then  went  to  Bering 
Sea  and  in  one  week  captured  twenty-five  whalers,  most  of  which  she  destroyed. 
This  was  in  June,  1865,  after  the  war  was  over.  In  August  a  British  ship  cap- 
tain informed  the  commander  of  the  Shenandoah  that  the  Confederacy  no  longer 
existed.  The  Shenandoah  was  then  taken  to  Liverpool  and  delivered  to  the 
British  government,  which  turned  her  over  to  the  United  States. 

2  Read  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  600-614. 


THE   NAVY  IN   THE   WAR 


379 


Operations  along  the  Coast.  —  Besides  blockading  the  coast, 
the  Union  navy  captured  or  aided  in  capturing  forts,  cities,  and 
water  ways.  The  forts  at  the  entrance  to  Pamlico  Sound  and 
Port  Royal  were  captured  in  1861.  Control  of  the  waters  of  Pam-  "^ 
lico  and  Albemarle  ^  sounds  was  secured  in  1862  by  the  capture 
of  Roanoke  Island,  Elizabeth  City,  Newbern,  and  Fort  Macon 
(map,  p.  369).  In  1863  Fort  Sumter  was  battered  down  in  a 
naval  attack  on  Charleston.  In  1864  Farragut  led  his  fleet  into 
Mobile  Bay  (in  southern  Alabama),  destroyed  the  Confederate 
fleet,  captured  the  forts  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay,  and  thus 
cut  the  city  of  Mobile  off  from  the  sea.  In  1865  Fort  Fisher, , 
which  guarded  the  entrance  to  Cape  Fear  River,  on  which  was 
Wilmington,  fell  before  a  combined  attack  by  land  and  naval 
forces. 

On  the  Inland  Waters.  —  On  the  great  water  ways  of  the 
West  the  notable  deeds  of  the  navy  were  the  capture  of  Fort 
Henry  on  the  Tennes- 
see by  Foote's  flotilla 
(p.  358),  the  capture  of 
New  Orleans  by  Farragut 
(p.  361),  and  the  run  of 
Porter's  fleet  past  the 
^  batteries  at  Vicksburg 
(p.  368). 

The  Monitor  and  the 
Merrimac.  — But  the  most 
famous  of  all  the  naval  engagements  was  that  of  the  Monitor  //- 
and  the  Merrimac  in  1862.      When  the  war  opened,  there  were 
at  the  navy  yard  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  a  quantity  of  guns,  stores, 
supplies,  and  eleven  vessels.     The  officer  in  command,  fearing 

1  In  1864  a  Confederate  ironclad  ram,  the  Albemarle,  appeared  on  the 
waters  of  Albemarle  Sound.  As  no  Union  war  ship  could  harm  her,  Com- 
mander W.  B.  Gushing  planned  an  expedition  to  destroy  her  by  a  torpedo.  On 
the  night  of  October  27,  with  fourteen  companions  in  a  steam  launch,  he  made 
his  way  to  the  ram,  blew  her  up  with  the  torpedo,  and  with  one  other  man 
escaped.  His  adventures  on  the  way  back  to  the  fleet  read  like  fiction,  and  are 
told  by  himself  in  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  634-640. 


One  of  Porter's  gunboats  passing  Vicksburg. 


380 


THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 


that  they  would  fall  into  Confederate  hands,  set  fire  to  the 
houses,  shops,  and  vessels,  and  abandoned  the  place.  One  of 
the  vessels  which  was  burned  to  the  water's  edge  and  sunk  was 
the  steam  frigate  Merrimac.  Finding  her  hull  below  the 
water  line  unhurt,  the  Confederates  raised  the  Merrimac^ 
turned  her  into  an  ironclad  ram,  renamed  her  Virginia^  and 
sent  her  forth  to  destroy  a  squadron  of  United  States  vessels 
at  anchor  in  Hampton  Roads  (at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River). 
Steaming  across  the  roads  one  day  in  March,  1862,  the  Mer- 
r'nnac  rammed  and  sank  the  Cumber  land  ^^  forced  the  Congress 

to  surrender,  and  set  her 
on  fire.  This  done,  the 
Merrimac  withdrew,  in- 
tending to  resume  the 
work  of  destruction  on 
the  morrow  ;  for  her 
iron  armor  had  proved 
to  be  ample  protection 
against  the  guns  of  the 
Union  ships.  But  the 
next  morning,  as  she 
Merrimac  and  Monitor.  q^^^q   near  the   Minne- 

sota^ the  strangest-looking  craft  afloat  came  forth  to  meet  her. 
Its  deck  was  almost  level  with  the  water,  and  was  plated  with 
sheets  of  iron.  In  the  center  of  the  deck  was  an  iron-plated 
cylinder  which  could  be  revolved  by  machinery,  and  in  this 
were  two  large  guns.     This  was  the  Monitor,^  which  had  arrived 


iThe  hole  made  in  the  Cumberland  by  the  Merrimac  was  "large  enough 
for  a  man  to  enter."  Through  this  the  water  poured  in  so  rapidly  that  the  sick, 
wounded,  and  many  who  were  not  disabled  were  carried  down  with  the  ship. 
After  she  sank,  the  flag  at  the  masthead  still  waved  above  the  water.  Read 
Longfellow's  poem  The  Cumberland. 

2  The  Monitor  was  designed  by  John  Ericsson,  who  was  born  in  Sweden  in 
1803.  After  serving  as  an  engineer  in  the  Swedish  army,  he  went  to  England  ; 
and  then  came  to  our  country  in  1839.  He  was  the  inventor  of  the  first  prac- 
tical screw  propeller  for  steamboats,  and  by  his  invention  of  the  revolving  turret 
for  war  vessels  he  completely  changed  naval  architecture.  His  name  is  con- 
nected with  many  great  inventions.     He  died  in  1889. 


THE   NAVY  IN   THE   WAR  381 

in  the  Roads  the  night  before,  and  now  came  out  from  behind 
the  Miniiesota  to  fight  the  Merrimac.  During  four  hours  the 
battle  raged  with  apparently  no  result  ;  then  the  Merrimac  ]. 
withdrew  and  the  Monitor  took  her  place  beside  the  Mirmesota.^ 
This  battle  marks  the  doom  of  wooden  naval  vessels  ;  all  the 
nations  of  the  world  were  forced  to  build  their  navies  anew. 

Finances  of  the  War.  —  Four  years  of  war  on  land  and  sea 
cost  the  people  of  the  North  an  immense  sum  of  money.  To 
obtain  the  money  Congress  began  (1861)  by  raising  the  tariff 
on  imported  articles  ;  by  taxing  all  incomes  of  more  than  i800  a 
year ;  and  by  levying  a  direct  tax,  which  was  apportioned  among 
the  states  according  to  their  population. ^  But  the  money 
from  these  sources  was  not  sufficient,  and  (1862)  an  internal 
revenue  tax  was  resorted  to,  and  collected  by  stamp  duties.^ 
Even  this  tax  did  not  yield  enough  money,  and  the  government 
was  forced  to  borrow  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States.  Bonds 
were  issued,^  and  then  United  States  notes,  called  "greenbacks," 
were  put  in  circulation  and  made  legal  tender ;  that  is,  every- 
body had  to  take  them  in  payment  of  debts. ^ 

Money  in  War  Time.  — After  the  government  began  to  issue 
paper  money,  the  banks  suspended  specie  payment,  and  all  gold 
and  silver  coins,  including  the  3,  5,  10,  25,  and  50  cent  pieces, 
disappeared  from  circulation.  The  people  were  then  without 
small  change,  and  for  a  time  postage  stamps  and  "  token " 
pieces  of  brass  and  copper  were  used  instead.     In  March,  1863, 

1  When  the  Confederates  evacuated  Norfolk  some  months  later,  the  Merri-     ■ 
mac  was  blown  up.   The  Monitor,  in  December,  1862,  went  down  in  a  storm  at  sea. 

^  As  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede  was  not  acknowledged,  this  direct  tax  of 
$20,000,000  was  apportioned  among  the  Confederate  as  well  as  among  the  Union 
states.     The  Confederate  states,  of  course,  did  not  pay  their  share. 

3  Deeds,  mortgages,  bills  of  lading,  bank  checks,  patent  medicines,  wines, 
liquors,  tobacco,  proprietary  articles,  and  many  other  things  were  taxed.  Be- 
tween 1862  and  1865  about  $780,000,000  was  raised  in  this  way. 

*  Between  July  1,  1861,  and  August  81,  1865,  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$1,109,000,000  were  issued  and  sold. 

^  The  Legal  Tender  Act,  which  authorized  the  issue  of  greenbacks,  was 
enacted  in  1862,  and  two  years  later  $449,000,000  were  in  circulation.  The 
greenbacks  could  not  be  used  to  pay  duties  on  imports  or  interest  on  the  public 
debt,  which  were  payable  in  specie. 

MrM.   BRIEF 23 


382  THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

however,  Congress  authorized  the  issue  of  150,000,000  in  paper 
fractional  currency.  ^  Both  the  greenbacks  and  the  fractional 
currency  were  merely  promises  to  pay  money.  As  the  govern- 
ment did  not  pay  on  demand,  coin  commanded  a  premium;  that 
is,  $100  in  gold  or  silver  could  be  exchanged  in  the  market 
(down  till  1879)  for  more  than  flOO  in  paper  money. 

National  Banks.  —  Besides  the  paper  money  issued  by  the 
government  there  were  in  circulation  several  thousand  different 
kinds  of  state  bank  notes.  Some  had  no  value,  some  a  little 
value,  and  others  were  good  for  the  sums  (in  greenbacks)  ex- 
pressed on  their  faces.  In  order  to  replace  these  notes  by  a 
sound  currency  having  the  same  value  everywhere.  Congress 
(1863)  established  the  national  banking  system.  Legally  or- 
ganized banking  associations  were  to  purchase  United  States 
bonds  and  deposit  them  with  the  government.  Each  bank  so 
doing  was  then  entitled  to  issue  national  bank  notes  to  the 
value  of  ninety  per  cent^  of  the  bonds  it  had  deposited.  Many 
banks  accepted  these  terms;  but  it  was  not  till  (1865)  after 
Congress  taxed  the  notes  of  state  banks  that  those  notes  were 
driven  out  of  circulation. 

Cost  of  the  War.  —  Just  what  the  war  cost  can  never  be  fully 
determined.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  left  occupations 
of  all  sorts  and  joined  the  armies.  What  they  might  have 
made  had  they  stayed  at  home  was  what  they  lost  by  going  to 
the  front.  Every  loyal  state,  city,  and  county,  and  almost  every 
town  and  village,  incurred  a  war  debt.  The  national  govern- 
ment during  the  war  spent  for  war  purposes  $3,660,000,000.  To 
this  must  be  added  the  value  of  our  merchant  ships  destroyed 
by  Confederate  cruisers;  the  losses  in  the  South;  and  many 
hundred  millions  paid  in  pensions  to  soldiers  and  their  widows. 

The  loss  in  the  cities  and  towns  burned  or  injured  by  siege 
and  the  other  operations  of  war,  and  the  loss  caused  by  the 
ruin  of  trade  and  commerce  and  the  destruction  of  railroads, 

1  This  paper  fractional  currency  consisted  of  small  paper  bills  in  denomina- 
tions of  3,  5,  10,  15,  25,  and  50  cents.  Read  the  account  in  Rhodes's  History  of 
the  U.  S.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  191-196.  2  Jq  1902  changed  to  one  hundred  per  cent. 


LIFE  IN   WAR  TIMES  383 

farms,  plantations,  crops,  and  private  property,  can  not  be  fully 
estimated,  but  it  was  very  great. 

The  most  awful  cost  was  the  loss  of  life.  On  the  Union  side 
more  than  360,000  men  were  killed,  or  died  of  wounds  or  of 
disease.  On  the  Confederate  side  the  number  was  nearly  if 
not  quite  as  large,  so  that  some  700,000  men  perished  in  the 
war.  Many  were  young  men  with  every  prospect  of  a  long  life 
before  them,  and  their  early  death  deprived  their  country  of 
the  benefit  of  their  labor. 

Distress  in  the  South.  —  In  the  North  the  people  suffered 
little  if  any  real  hardship.  In  the  South,  after  the  blockade 
became  effective,  the  people  suffered  privations.  Not  merely 
luxuries  were  given  up,  but  the  necessaries  of  life  became 
scarce.  Thrown  on  their  own  resources,  the  people  resorted  to 
all  manner  of  makeshifts.  To  get  brine  from  which  salt  could 
be  obtained  by  evaporation,  the  earthen  floors  of  smokehouses, 
saturated  by  the  dripping  of  bacon,  were  dug  up  and  washed, 
and  barrels  in  which  salt  pork  had  been  packed  were  soaked  in 
water.  Tea  and  coffee  ceased  to  be  used,  and  dried  blackberry, 
currant,  and  raspberry  leaves  were  used  instead.  Rye,  wheat, 
chicory,  chestnuts  roasted  and  ground,  did  duty  for  coffee. 
The  spinning  wheel  came  again  into  use,  and  homespun  clothing, 
dyed  with  the  extract  of  black-walnut  bark,  or  with  wild  indigo, 
was  generally  worn.  As  articles  were  scarce,  prices  rose,  and 
then  went  higher  and  higher  as  the  Confederate  money  depre- 
ciated, like  the  old  Continental  money  in  Revolutionary  times. 
In  1864  Mrs.  Jefferson  Davis  states  that  in  Richmond  a  turkey  L^ 
cost  160,  a  barrel  of  flour  $300,  and^a  pair  of  shoes  |150.  No 
little  suffering  was  caused  for  want  of  medicines,^  woolen  goods, 
blankets,^  shoes,  paper,^  and  in  some  of  the  cities  even  bread 

1  When  Sherman  was  in  command  at  Memphis,  a  funeral  procession  was 
allowed  to  pass  beyond  the  Union  lines.  The  coffin,  however,  was  full  of  medi- 
cines for  the  Confederate  army. 

2  Blankets  were  sometimes  made  of  cow  hair,  or  long  moss  from  the  sea- 
board, and  even  carpets  were  cut  up  and  sent  as  blankets  to  the  army. 

^  The  newspapers  of  the  time  give  evidence  of  the  scarcity  of  paper.  Some 
are  printed  on  half  sheets,  a  few  on  brown  paper,  and  some  on  note  paper. 


384 


THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 


became  scarce. ^  To  get  food  for  the  army  the  Confederate 
Congress  (1863)  authorized  the  seizure  of  supplies  for  the  troops 
and  payment  at  fixed  prices  which  were  far  below  the  market 
rates. 2 

Some  men  made  fortunes  by  blockade  running,  smuggling 
from  the  North,  and  speculation  in  stocks.  Dwellers  on  the 
great  plantations,  remote  from  the  operations  of  the  contending 
armies,  suffered  not  from  want  of  food  ;  but  the  great  body  of 
the  people  had  much  to  endure. 

1  Riots  of  women,  prompted  by  the  high  prices  of  food,  occurred  in  Atlanta, 
Mobile,  Richmond,  and  other  places. 

2  Head  "  War  Diary  of  a  Union  Woman  in  the  South,"  in  the  Century  Maga- 
zine, October,  1889;  Rhodes's  History  of  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  343-384. 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  operations  of  the  navy  comprised  (1)  the  blockade  of  the  coast 
of  the  Confederate  States,  (2)  the  capture  of  seaports,  (3)  the  pursuit  and 
capture  of  Confederate  cruisers,  and  (4)  aiding  the  array  on  the  western 
rivers. 

2.  A  notable  feature  in  the  naval  war  was  the  use  of  ironclad  vessels. 
These  put  an  end  to  the  wooden  naval  vessels,  and  revolutionized  the  navies 
of  the  world. 

3.  The  cost  of  the  war  in  human  life,  money,  and  property  destroyed 
was  immense,  and  can  be  stated  only  approximately. 

4.  In  the  South,  as  the  war  progressed,  the  hardships  endured  by  the 
mass  of  the  people  caused  much  suffering. 


Loading  a  naval  cannon  in  the  Civil  War. 

Contemporary  drawing. 


CHAPTER   XXXI 
KECONSTRUCTIOX 

Three  Issues.  —  After  the  collapse  of  the  Confederacy,  our 
countrymen  were  called  on  to  meet  three  issues  arising  directly 
from  the  war  :  — 

1.    The  first  was,  What  shall  be  done  to  destroy  the  institu-   (• 
tion  of  slavery  ?  ^ 

•    2.    The  second  was,  What  shall  be  done  with  the  late  Con-  ^ 
federate  states  ?  ^ 

3.    The  third  had  to  do  with   the  national  debt  and  the  -^' 
currency. 

The  Thirteenth  Amendment. — When  the  war  ended,  slavery 
had  been  abolished  in  Maryland,  Missouri,  and  West  Virginia, 
by  gradual  or  immediate  abolition  acts,  and  in  Tennessee  by  a 
special  emancipation  act.  In  order  that  it  might  be  done  away 
with  everywhere  Congress  (in  January,  1865)  sent  out  to  the 

1  A  closely  related  question  was,  What  shall  be  done  for  the  negroes  set  free 
by  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  ?  During  the  war,  as  the  Union  armies 
occupied  more  and  more  of  Confederate  territory,  the  number  of  freedmen 
within  the  lines  grew  to  hundreds  of  thousands.  Many  were  enlisted  as  soldiers, 
others  were  settled  on  abandoned  or  confiscated  lands,  and  societies  were  organ- 
ized to  aid  them.  In  1865,  however.  Congress  established  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau  to  care  for  them.    Tracts  of  confiscated  land  were  set  apart  to  be  granted 

in  forty-acre  plots,  and  the  bureau  was  to  find  the  negroes  work,  establish  schools     ^ 
for  them,  and  protect  them  from  injustice. 

2  When  the  eleven  Southern  states  passed  their  ordinances  of  secession,  they 
claimed  to  be  out  of  the  Union.  As  to  this  there  were  in  the  North  three  dif- 
ferent views.  (1)  Lincoln  held  that  no  state  could  secede  ;  that  the  people  of 
the  seceding  states  were  insurgents  or  persons  engaged  in  rebellion ;  that  when 
the  rebellion  was  crushed  in  any  state,  loyal  persons  could  again  elect  senators  and 
representatives,  and  thus  resume  their  old  relations  to  the  Union.  (2)  Others 
held  that  these  states  had  ceased  to  exist ;  that  nothing  but  their  territory 
remained,  and  that  Congress  could  do  what  it  pleased  with  this  territory. 
(.3)  Between  these  extremes  were  most  of  the  Republican  leaders,  who  held 
that  these  states  had  lost  their  ris:hts  under  the  Constitution,  and  that  only  Con- 
gress could  restore  them  to  the  Union. 

385 


386  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST  SLAVERY 

states    a    Thirteenth    Amendment    to  ■  the    Constitution,    de- 
claring slavery  abolished   throughout  the  United  States.     In 
V  December,  1865,  three  fourths  of  the  states  having  ratified,  it 
became  part  of  the  Constitution,  and  slavery  was  no  more. 

Reconstruction.  — After  the  death  of  Lincoln,  the  work  of 
reconstruction  was  taken  up  by  his  successor,  Johnson. ^  He 
recognized  the  governments  established  by  loyal  persons  in 
\  Tennessee,  Virginia,  Arkansas,  and  Louisiana.  For  the  other 
states  he  appointed  provisional  governors  and  authorized  con- 
ventions to  be  called.  These  conventions  repudiated  the 
\  Confederate  debt,  repealed  the  ordinances  of  secession,  and 
ratified  the  Thirteenth  Amendment. 

This  done,  Johnson  considered  these  states  as  reconstructed 
and  entitled  to  send  senators  and  representatives  to  Congress. 
But  Congress  thought  otherwise  and  would  not  admit  their 
senators  and  representatives.  Johnson  then  denied  the  right 
/  of  Congress  to  legislate  for  the  states  not  represented  in  Con- 
gress. He  vetoed  many  bills  which  chiefly  affected  the  South, 
and  in  .the  summer  of  1866  made  speeches  denouncing  Con- 
gress for  its  action. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment.  —  One  measure  which  President 
Johnson  would  have  vetoed  if  he  could,  was  a  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  which  Congress  proposed 
in  1866.  Ten  of  the  former  Confederate  states  rejected  it, 
as  did  also  four  of  the  Union  states.  Congress,  therefore,  in 
^  March,  1867,  passed  over  the  veto  a  Reconstruction  Act  setting 
^>  forth  what  the  states  would  have  to  do  to  get  back  into  the 
Union.  One  condition  was  that  they  must  ratify  the  Four- 
teenth  Amendment;    when  they  had  done  so,   and  when  the 

1  Andrew  Johnson  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1808.  He  never  went  to 
school,  and  when  ten  years  old  was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor.  When  eighteen,  he 
went  to  Tennessee,  where  he  married  and  was  taught  to  read  and  write  by  his 
wife.  He  was  a  man  of  ability,  was  three  years  alderman  and  three  years 
mayor  of  Greenville,  was  three  times  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature,  six 
times  a  member  of  Congress,  and  twice  governor  of  Tennessee.  When  the 
war  opened,  he  was  a  Democratic  senator  from  Tennessee,  and  stoutly  opposed 
secession.  In  1862  Lincoln  made  him  military  governor  of  Tennessee.  In  1875 
he  was  again  elected  United  States  senator,  but  died  the  same  year. 


RECONSTRUCTION  387 

amendment  had  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution^  they  were  to 
be  readmitted. 

Southern  States  Readmitted.  —  Six  states — North  Carolina,  , 
South  Carolina,  Florida,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas — 
submitted,  and  the  amendment  having  become  a  part  of  the 
Constitution,  they  were  (1868)  declared  again  in  the  Union. 
Tennessee  had  been  readmitted  in  1866.  Virginia,  Mississippi 
and  Texas  were  not  readmitted  till  1870,  and  Georgia  not  till 
1871. 

The  Debt  and  the  Currency.  —  The  financial  question  to  be 
settled  included  two  parts:  What  shall  be  done  with  the. bonds 
(p.  381)?  and  What  shall  be  done  with  the  paper  money?  As  to 
the  first,  it  was  decided  to  pay  the  bonds  as  fast  as  possible,^  and 
by  1873  some  §500,000,000  were  paid.  As  to  the  second,  it  was 
at  first  decided  to  cancel  (instead  of  reissuing)  the  greenbacks  as 
they  came  into  the  treasury  in  payment  of  taxes  and  other  debts 
to  the  government.  But  after  the  greenbacks  in  circulation  had 
been  thus  reduced  (from  $^449,000,000)  to  f 356,000,000,  Con- 
gress ordered  that  their  cancellation  should  stop. 

Johnson  Impeached.  —  The  President  meantime  had  been 
impeached.  In  March,  1867,  Congress  pa^ssed  (over  Johnson's 
veto)  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act,  depriving  him  of  power  to  re-  ]^ 
move  certain  officials.  He  might  suspend  them  till  the  Senate 
examined  into  the  cause  of  suspension.  If  it  approved,  the 
officer  was  remove4.     If  it  disapproved,  he  was  reinstated.^ 

Johnson  soon  disobeyed  the  law.  In  August  J867,  he  asked 
Secretary-of-War  Stanton  to  resign,  and  when  Stanton  refused, 

1  Some  of  these  bonds  (issued  after  March,  1863)  contained  the  provision 
that  tliey  should  be  paid  "in  coin."  Bat  others  (issued  in  1862)  merely  pro- 
vided that  the  interest  should  be  paid  in  coin.  Now,  greenbacks  were  legal 
tender  for  all  debts  except  duties  on  imports  and  interest  on  the  bonds.  A 
demand  was  therefore  made  that  the  early  bonds  should  be  paid  in  greenbacks; 
also  that  all  government  bonds  (which  had  been  exempted  from  taxation)  should 
be  taxed  like  other  property.  This  idea  was  so  popular  in  Ohio  that  it  was  called 
the  "Ohio  idea,"  and  its  supporters  were  nicknamed  "  Greenbackers. "  To 
put  an  end  to  this  question  Congress  (1869)  provided  that  all  bonds  should  be 
paid  in  coin. 

2  This  Tenure  of  Office  Act  was  afterward  repealed  (partly  in  1869,  and 
partly  in  1887). 


388 


THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 


suspended  him.  The  Senate  disapproved  and  reinstated  Stan- 
ton. But  Johnson  then  removed  him  and  appointed  another 
man  in  his  place.  For  this  act,  and  for  his  speeches  against 
Congress,  the  House  impeached  the  President,  and  the  Senate 
tried  him,  for  "  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors."  He  was  not 
found  guilty.  1 


Republican  cartoon  of  1868. 

"  Blood  will  tell !    The  great  race  for  the  presidential  sweepstakes,  between  the  Western  War 
Horse  U.  S.  Grant  and  the  Manhattan  Donkey." 

Grant  elected  President,  1868. — In  the  midst  of  Johnson's 
quarrel  with  Congress  the  time  came  to  elect  his  successor. 
The  Democratic  party  nominated  Horatio  Seymour.  The  Re- 
publicans chose  Ulysses  S.  Grant  ajid  elected  him. 

Grant's  first  terra  is  memorable  because  of  the  adoption  of 
the  Fifteenth  Amendment ;  the  restoration  to  the  Union  of 

1  There  have  been  eight  cases  of  impeachment  of  officers  of  the  United 
States.  The  House  begins  by  sending  a  committee  to  the  Senate  to  impeach,  or 
accuse,  the  officer  in  question.  The  Senate  then  organizes  itself  as  a  court 
with  the  Vice  President  as  the  presiding  officer,  and  fixes  the  time  for  trial. 
The  House  presents  articles  of  impeachment,  or  specific  charges  of  misconduct, 
and  appoints  a  committee  to  take  charge  of  its  side  of  the  case.  The  accused  is 
represented  by  lawyers,  witnesses  are  examined,  arguments  made,  and  the 
decision  rendered  by  vote  of  the  senators.  When  a  President  is  impeached,  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  presides  in  place  of  the  Vice  President. 


RECONSTRUCTION  389 

the  last  four  of  the  former  Confederate  states,  Virginia, 
Georgia,  Mississippi,  and  Texas  ;  the  disorder  in  the  South  ; 
and  the  character  of  our  foreign  relations. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment. — Encouraged  by  their  success  at 
the  polls,  the  Republicans  went  on  with  the  work  of  reconstruc- 
tion, and  (in  February,  1869)  Congress  sent  out  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution. 

By  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  the  states  were  left  (as 
before)  to  settle  for  themselves  who  should  and  who  should  ^ 
not  vote.  But  if  any  state  denied  or  in  any  way  abridged  the 
right  of  any  portion  of  its  male  citizens  over  twenty-one  years 
old  to  vote.  Congress  was  to  reduce  tiie  number  of  representa- 
tives from  that  state  in  Congress  in  the  same  proportion.  But 
now  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  each  state  was  forbidden  to 
deprive  any  man  of  the  right  to  vote  because  of  his  "race,  color, 
or  previous  condition  of  servitude."  In  March,  1870,  the 
amendment  went  into  force,  having  been  ratified  by  a  sufficient 
number  of  states. 

Carpetbag  Rule.  —  President  Grant  began  his  administra- 
tion in  troubled  times.  The  Reconstruction  Act  had  secured 
the  negro  the  right  to  vote.  Many  Southern  states  were 
thereby  given  over  to  negro  rule.  Seeing  this,  a  swarm  of 
Northern  politicians  called  "  carpetbaggers  "  went  south,  made 
themselves  political  leaders  of  the  ignorant  freed  men,  and 
plundered  and  misgoverned  the  states.  In  this  tliey  were  aided 
by  a  few  Southerners  who  supported  the  negro  cause  and  were 
called  "scalawags."  But  most  of  the  Southern  whites  were 
determined  to  stop  the  misgovernment ;  and,  banded  together 
in  secret  societies,  called  by  such  names  as  Knights  of  the  White 
Camelia,  and  the  Ku-Klux-Klan,  they,  terrorized  the  negroes 
and  kept  them  from  voting.  ^ 

Force  Act.  —  Such  intimidation  was  in  violation  of  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment.     Congress  therefore  enacted  the  "  Ku-  y 

1  Read  A  FooVs  Errand,  by  A.  W.  Tourgde,  and  Red  Rock,  by  Thomas 
Nelson  Page  —  two  interesting  novels  describing  life  in  the  South  during  this 
period. 


390 


THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 


Klux-  Act,"  or  Force  Act  (1871),  which  prescribed  fine  and 
imprisonment  for  any  one  convicted  of  hindering  or  attempt- 
ing to  hinder  a  negro  from  voting,  or  his  vote  when  cast  from 
being  counted. 

Rise  of  the  Liberal  Republicans.  —  The  troubles  which 
followed  the  enforcement  of  this  act  led  many  to  think 
that  the  government  had  gone  too  far,  and  a  more  lib- 
eral treatment  of  the  South  was  demanded.  Many  com- 
plained that  the  civil  service  of  the  government  was  used 
to  reward  party  workers,  and  that  fitness  for  office  was  not 
duly  considered.  There  was  opposition  to  the  high  tariff. 
These  and  other  causes  now  split  the  Republican  party  in  the 
^  West  and  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Liberal  Republican  party. 

Foreign  Relations. 
—  Our  foreign  rela- 
tions since  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War 
present  many  mat- 
ters of  importance. 
In  1867  Alaska  ^  was 
purchased  from  Rus- 
sia for  17,200,000. 
At  the  opening  of 
the  war  France  sent 
troops  to  Mexico, 
overthrew  the  gov- 
ernment, and  set  up, 
an  empire  with  Maximilian,  Archduke  of  Austria,  as  emperor. 
This  was  a  violation  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  (p.  282).     When 


Cartoon  of  1862. 

Say,  Missus  [Mexico],  me  and  these  other  gents  'ave  come  to 
nurse  you  a  bit."  2 


^  Soon  after  the  purchase  a  few  small  Alaskan  islands  were  leased  to  a  fur 
company  for  twenty  years,  and  during  that  time  nearly  $7,000,000  was  paid  into 
the  United  States  treasury  as  rental  and  royalty.  Besides  seals  and  fish,  much 
gold  has  been  obtained  in  Alaska. 

2  When  France  first  interfered  in  Mexican  affairs,  it  was  in  conjunction 
with  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  on  the  pretext  of  aiding  Mexico  to  provide  for  her 
debts  to  these  powers.  But  when  France  proceeded  to  overthrow  the  Mexican 
government,  Great  Britain  and  Spain  withdrew. 


^ 


RECONSTRUCTION  391 

the  war  was  over,  therefore,  troops  were  sent  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  a  demand  was  made  on  France  to  recall  her  troops.  The 
French  army  was  withdrawn,  and  Maximilian  was  captured  by 
the  Mexicans  and  shot.  These  things  happened  while  Johnson 
was  President. 

Santo  Domingo.  —  In  1869  Grant  negotiated  a  treaty  for  the 
annexation  of  the  negro  republic  of  Santo  Domingo,  and 
urged  the  Senate  to  ratify  it.  When  the  Senate  failed  to 
do  so,  he  made  a  second  appeal,  with  a  like  result. 

Alabama  Claims.  —  In  1871  the  treaty  of  Washington  was 
signed,  by  which  several  outstanding  subjects  of  dispute  with 
Great  Britain  were  submitted  to  arbitration.  (1)  Chief  of  these 
were  the  Alabama  claims  for  damage  to  the  property  of  our 
citizens  by  the  Confederate  cruisers  built  or  purchased  in  Great 
Britain. 1  The  five^  arbitrators  met  at  Geneva  in  1872  and 
awarded  us  115,500,000  in  gold  as  indemnity.  (2)  A  dispute^ 
over  the  northeastern  fisheries^  was  referred  to  a  commission 
which  met  at  Halifax  and  awarded  Great  Britain  15,500,000. 
(3)  The  same  treaty  provided  that  a  dispute  over  a  part  of  the   \ 

1  The  cruisers  were  the  Alabama,  Sumter,  Shenandoah,  Florida,  and  others 
(p.  378).  We  claimed  that  Great  Britain  had  not  done  her  duty  as  a  neutral;  that 
she  ought  to  have  prevented  their  building,  arming,  or  equipping  in  her  ports  and 
sailing  to  destroy  the  commerce  of  a  friendly  nation,  and  that,  not  having  done 
so,  she  was  responsible  for  the  damage  they  did.  We  claimed  damages  for  (1) 
private  losses  by  destruction  of  ships  and  cargoes  ;  (2)  high  rates  of  insurance 
paid  by  citizens ;  (8)  cost  of  pursuing  the  cruisers ;  (4)  transfer  of  American 
merchant  ships  to  the  British  flag ;  (5)  prolongation  of  the  war  because  of  rec- 
ognition of  the  Confederate  States  as  belligerents,  and  the  resulting  cost  to  us. 
Great  Britain  denied  that  2,  3,  4,  and  5  were  subject  to  arbitration,  and  it  looked 
for  a  while  as  if  the  arbitration  would  come  to  naught.  The  tribunal  decided 
against  2,  4,  and  5  on  principles  of  international  law,  and  made  no  award  for  3. 

2  One  was  appointed  by  the  President,  one  by  Great  Britain,  one  by  the  King 
of  Italy,  one  by  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  and  one  by  the  Em- 
peror of  Brazil.  In  1794-1904  there  were  fifty-seven  cases  submitted  to  arbitra- 
tion, of  which  twenty  were  with  Great  Britain. 

^  The  question  was,  whether  the  privilege  granted  citizens  of  the  United 
States  to  catch  fish  in  the  harbors,  bays,  creeks,  and  shores  of  the  provinces  of 
Quebec,  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Prince  Edward  Island  was  more 
valuable  than  the  privilege  granted  British  subjects  to  catch  fish  in  harbors,  bays, 
creeks,  and  off  the  coast  of  the  United  States  north  of  30'^.  The  commission 
decided  that  it  was. 


392  THE  LONG   STRUGGLE  AGAINST   SLAVERY 

northwest  boundary  should  be  submitted  to  the  emperor  of 
Germany  as  arbitrator.  He  decided  in  favor  of  our  claim,  tiius 
confirming  our  possession  of  the  small  San  Juan  group  of  islauds, 
in  the  channel  between  Vancouver  and  the  mainland. 

Cuba.  —  In  18G8  the  people  of  Cuba  rebelled  against  Spain, 
1/ proclaimed  a  republic,  and  began  a  war  which  lasted  nearly  ten 
years.  American  ships  were  seized,  our  citizens  arrested ; 
American  property  in  Cuba  was  destroyed  or  confiscated ;  and 
our  ports  were  used  to  fit  out  filibusters  to  aid  the  Cubans. 
Because  of  these  things  and  the  sympathy  felt  in  our  country 
for  the  Cubans,  Grant  made  offers  of  mediation,  which  Spain 
declined.  As  the  war  continued,  the  question  of  giving  the 
Cubans  rights  of  belligerents,  and  recognizing  their  independ- 
ence, was  urged  on  Congress. 

While  these  issues  were  undecided,  a  vessel  called  the  Vir- 
ginius,  flying  our  flag,  was  seized  by  Spain  as  a  filibuster,  and 
fifty- three  of  her  passengers  and  crew  were  put  to  death  (1873). 
War  seemed  likely  to  follow  ;  but  Spain  released  the  ship  and 
survivors,  and  later  paid  180,000  to  the  families  of  the  mur- 
dered men. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  end  of  the  Civil  War  brought  up  several  issues  for  settlement. 

2.  Out  of  the  negro  problem   came  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and 
^  Fifteenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

3.  Out  of  the  issue  of  readmitting  the  Confederate  states  into  the  Union 
grew  a  serious  quarrel  with  President  Johnson. 

4.  Congress  passed  the  Reconstruction  Act  over  Johnson's  veto  (1867), 
and  by  1868  seven  states  were  back  in  the  Union. 

5.  Johnson's  intemperate  speeches  and  his  violation  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress led  to  his  impeachment  and  trial.     He  was  not  convicted. 

6.  Johnson  was  succeeded  by  Grant,  in  whose  administration  the  re- 
maining Southern  states  were  readmitted  to  the  Union;  but  the  condition 
of  the  South,  under  carpetbag  government,  became  worse  than  ever,  and  led 
to  the  passage  of  the  Force  Act. 

7.  Our  foreign  relations  after  the  end  of  the  war  are  memorable  for  the 
purchase  of  Alaska,  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  from  Mexico,  the  treaty 
with  Great  Britain  for  the  settlement  of  sevei'al  old  issues,  the  attempt  of 
Grant  to  purchase  Santo  Domingo,  and  the  Virginius  affair  with  Spain. 


CHAPTER   XXXIT 


GROWTH   OF   THE   COUNTRY  FROM   1860  TO   1880 

The  West.  —  In  1860  the  great  West  bore  little  resemblance 
to  its  present  appearance.  The  only  states  wholly  or  partly 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  were  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Missouri, 
Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Texas,  California,  and  Oregon.  Kansas 
territory   extended   from    Missouri   to  the   Rocky  Mountains. 

Nebraska     territory     in-  

eluded  the  region  from 
Kansas  to  the  British  pos- 
sessions, and  from  Minne- 
sota and  Iowa  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  New  Mexico 
territory  stretched  from 
Texas  to  California,  Utah 
territory  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  California, 
and  Washington  terri- 
tory from  the  mountains 
to  the  Pacific. 

Gold  and  Silver  Min- 
ing.—  One  decade,  how- 
ever, completely  changed  the  West.  In  1S58  gold  was  discov-  - 
ered  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  Pikes 
Peak ;  gold  hunters  rushed  thither,  Denver  was  founded,  and 
in  1861  Colorado  was  made  a  territory,  Kansas,  reduced  to 
its  present  limits,  was  admitted  as  a  state  the  same  year,  and 
the  northern  part  of  Nebraska  territory  was  cut  off  and  called 
Dakota  territory  (map,  p.  352). 

In  1859  silver  was  discovered  on  Mount  Davidson  (then  in  v 
western  Utah),  and  population  poured  thither.     Virginia  City 


Scene  in  a  new  mining  town. 

Deadwood,  Dakota,  in  the  'TO's. 


115     Longitude      llQ        West  ]05  trom  1 00     Greenwich     9-3 


394 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    1860  TO    1880       395 

sprang  into  existence,  and  in  1861  Nevada  was  made  a  territory 
and  in  1864,  with  enlarged  boundaries,  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  state. 

Precious  metals  were  found  in  1862  in  what  was  then 
eastern  Washington;  the  old  Fort  Boise  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  became  a  thriving  town,  other  settlements  were 
made,  and  in  1863  the  territory  of  Idaho  was  organized.  In 
the  same  year  Arizona  was  cut  off  from  New  Mexico. 

Hardly  had  this  been  done  when  gold  was  found  on  the 
Jefferson  fork  of  the  Missouri  River.  Bannack  City,  Virginia 
City,  and  Helena  were  founded,  and  in  1861  Montana  was  made 
a  territory. 1 

In  1867  Nebraska  became  a  state,  and  the  next  year 
Wyoming  territory  was  formed.  "■ 

Overland  Trails. —  When  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  in  1861, 
no  railroad  crossed  the  plains.  The  horse,  the  stagecoach,  the 
pack  train,  the  prairie  schooner,^  were  the  means  of  transporta- 
tion, and  but  few  routes  of  travel  were  well  defined.  The 
Great  Salt  Lake  and  California  trail,  starting  in  Kansas,  fol- 
lowed the  north  branch  of  the  Platte  River  to  the  mountains, 
crossed  the  South  Pass,  and  went  on  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  City 
to  Sacramento.  Over  this  line,  once  each  week,  a  four-horse 
Concord  coach  ^  started  from  each  end  of  the  route. 

From  Independence  in  Missouri  another  line  of  coaches 
carried  the  mail  over  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail  to  New  Mexico. 

The  great  Western  mail  route  began  at  St.  Louis,  went 
across  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  curved  southward  to  El  Paso 
in  Texas,  and  then  by  way  of  the  Gila  River  to  Los  Angeles 
and  San  Francisco;  the  distance  of  2729  miles  was  covered  in 
twenty-four  days.^ 

1  For  descriptions  of  the  wild  life  in  ithe  i^w  Northwest  in  the  pioneer  days 
read  Langford's  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways. 

2  A  large  wagon  with  a  white  canvas  top. 

3  A  kind  of  heavy  coach,  so  called  because  first  manufactured  at  Concord, 
New  Hampshire. 

4  When  the  war  opened  and  Texas  seceded,  this  mute  was  abandoned,  and 
after  April,  1861,  letters  and  passengers  went  from  St.  Joseph  by  way  of  Salt 
Lake  City  to  California. 


396 


ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 


Pony  Express.  —  This  was  too  slow  for  business  men,  and  in 
18j^Q,.the  stage  company  started  the  Pony  Express  to  carry 
letters  on  horseback  from  St.  Joseph  to  San  Francisco. 
Mounted  on  a  swift  pony,  the  rider,  a  brave,  cool-headed,  picked 
man,  would  gallop  at  breakneck  speed  to  the  first  relay  station, 


Overland  mail  coach  starting  from  San  Francisco  for  the  East  in  1858. 

Contemporary  drawing. 

jump  on  the  back  of  another  pony  and  speed  away  to  the 
second,  mount  a  fresh  horse  and  be  off  for  a  third.  At 
the  third  station  he  would  find  a  fresh  rider  mounted,  who,  the 
moment  the  mail  bags  had  been  fastened  to  his  horse,  would 
^  ride  oif  to  cover  his  three  stations  in  as  short  a  time  as  pos- 
sible.    The   riders  left   each   end  of  the  route  twice  a  week 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM   1860  TO   1880        397 

or  oftener.      The    total    distance,  about   two   thousand   miles, 
was  passed  over  in  ten  days.^ 

In  the  large  cities  of  the  East  free  delivery  of  letters  by 
carriers  was  introduced  (1863),  the  postal  money  order  system  \ 
was  adopted  (1864),  and  trials  were  made  with  postal  cars  in 
which  the  mail  was  sorted  while  en  route. 

The  Telegraph.  —  Meanwhile  Congress  (in  June,  1860) 
incorporated  the  Pacific  Telegraph  Company  to  build  a  line 
across  the  continent.  By  November  the  line  reached  Fort 
Kearny,  where  an  operator  was  installed  in  a  little  sod  hut. 
By  October,  1861,  the  two  lines,  one  building  eastward  from 
California,  and  the  other  westward  from  Omaha,  reached  Salt 
Lake  City.  The  charge  for  a  ten-word  message  from  New 
York  to  Salt  Lake  City  was  $7.50. 

When  the  telegraph  line  was  finished,  the  work  of  the  Pony 
Express  ended,  and  all  letters  went  by  the  overland  stage  line,  \y 
whose  coaches  entered  every  large  mining  center,  carrying  pas- 
sengers, express  matter,  and  the  mail.^ 

Overland  Freight.  —  The  discovery  of  gold  in  western 
Kansas,  in  1858,  and  the  founding  of  Denver,  led  to  a  great 
freight  business  across  the  plains.  Flour,  bacon,  sugar,  coffee, 
dry  goods,  hardware,  furniture,    clothing,    came    in    immense 

1  All  letters  had  to  be  written  on  the  thinnest  paper,  and  no  more  than  twenty- 
pounds'  weight  was  allowed  in  each  of  the  two  pouches.  The  trail  was  infested 
with  "road  agents"  (robbers),  and  roving  bands  of  Indians  were  ever  ready  to 
murder  and  scalp;  but  in  summer  and  winter,  by  day  and  night,  over  the  plains 
and  over  the  mountains,  these  brave  men  made  their  dangerous  rides,  carrying 
no  arms  save  a  revolver  and  a  knife.  Each  letter  had  to  be  inclosed  in  a  ten- 
cent  stamped  envelope  and  have  on  it  in  addition  for  each  half  ounce  five  one- 
dollar  stamps  of  the  Pony  Express  Company.  The  story  of  the  Pony  Express  is 
told  in  Henry  Inman's  Great  Salt  Lake  Trail,  Chap.  viii. 

2  As  the  government  had  no  post  offices  in  the  mining  camps,  the  stage 
company  became  the  postmasters,  delivered  the  letters,  and  charged  twenty-five 
cents  for  each.  Sometimes  the  owner  of  a  little  store  in  a  remote  mountain 
camp  would  act  as  postmaster,  and  charge  a  high  price  for  sending  letters  to  or 
bringing  them  from  the  nearest  stage  station.  One  such  used  a  barrel  for  the 
letter  box,  and  sent  the  mail  once  a  month.  A  hole  was  cut  in  the  head  of 
the  barrel,  and  beside  it  was  posted  a  notice  which  read  :  "  This  is  a  Post  Office. 
Shove  a  qu^w^tei:  through  the  hole  with  your  letter.  We  have  no  use  for  stamps 
as  I  carry  the  mail." 


398  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

quantities  to  Omaha,  St.  Joseph,  Atchison,  Leavenworth, 
thence  to  be  hauled  to  the  "  diggings."  Atchison  became  a 
trade  center.  There,  in  the  spring  of  1860,  might  have  been 
seen  hundreds  of  wagons,  and  tons  of  goods  piled  on  the  levee, 
and  warehouses  full  of  provisions,  boots,  shoes,  and  clothing. 
From  it,  day  after  day,  went  a  score  of  prairie  schooners  drawn 
by  horses,  mules,  or  oxen.i 

The  Railroad.  —  The  idea  of  a  railroad  over  the  plains  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  an  old  one ;  but  at  last,  in  1862,  Congress 
chartered  two  railroad  companies  to  build  across  the  public 
domain  from  the  Missouri  River  to  California.  One,  the 
Union  Pacific,  was  to  start  at  Omaha  and  build  westward. 
The  other,  the  Central  Pacific,  was  to  start  in  California  and 
build  eastward  till  the  two  met.  Work  was  begun  in  Novem- 
ber, 1865,  and  in  May,  1869,  the  two  lines  were  joined  at  Prom- 
ontory Point,  near  Salt  Lake  City. 

As  the  railroad  progressed,  the  overland  coaches  plied 
between  the  ends  of  the  two  sections,  their  runs  growing 
shorter  and  shorter  till,  when  the  road  was  finished,  the  over- 
land stagecoach  was  discontinued. 

The  Homestead  Law.  —  When  the  Union  Pacific  and  Central 
Pacific  railroads  were  chartered,  they  were  given  immense  land 
grants; 2  but  in  the  same  year  (1862)  the  Homestead  Law  was 

1  The  lighter  articles  went  in  wagons  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses  or  mules, 
the  heavier  in  great  wagons  drawn  by  six  and  eight  yoke  of  oxen,  which  made  the 
trip  to  Denver  in  five  weeks.  The  cost  of  provisions  brought  in  this  way  was  very 
great.  Thus  in  18G5,  in  Helena,  Montana,  flour  sold  for  $85  a  sack  of  one  hun- 
dred pounds.  Potatoes  cost  fifty  cents  in  gold  a  pound,  and  coal  oil,  at  Virginia 
City,  $10  in  gold  a  gallon.  Board  and  lodgings  rose  in  proportion,  and  it  was 
not  uncommon  to  see  posted  in  the  boarding  houses  such  notices  as  this : 
"Board  with  bread  at  meals,  $32  ;  board  without  bread,  $22."  Read  Hough's 
The  Way  to  the  West,  pp.  200-221. 

2  Every  other  section  in  a  strip  of  land  twenty  miles  wide  along  the  entire 
length  of  the  railroad.  The  government  had  always  been  liberal  in  granting 
land  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  roads,  canals,  and  railroads,  and  between  1827 
and  1860  had  given  away  for  such  purposes  215,000,000  acres.  Had  these  acres 
been  in  one  great  tract  it  would  have  been  seven  times  as  large  as  Pennsylvania. 
In  1862  Congress  also  added  to  its  grants  for  educational  purposes  (p.  301)  by 
giving  to  each  state  from  90,000  to  990,000  acres  of  public  land  in  aid  of  a  college 
for  teaching  agriculture  and  the  mechanical  arts. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  COUNTRY   FROM    18G0  TO   1880      399 

enacted.  Under  the  provisions  of  this  law  a  farm  of  80  or  1(50 
acres  in  the  public  domain  might  be  secured  by  any  head  of  a 
family  or  person  twenty-one  years  old  who  was  a  citizen  of  our 
country  or  had  declared  an  intention  to  become  such,  provided 
he  or  she  would  live  on  the  farm  and  cultivate  it  for  five  years.^ 
Between  1863  and  1870,  103,000  entries  for  12,000,000  acres 
were  made.  This  showed  that  the  people  desired  the  land,  and 
was  one  reason  why  no  more  should  be  given  to  corporations. 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  —  In  1864  Congress  had  chartered 
a  railroad  for  the  new  Northwest,  and  had  given  the  company 
an  immense  land  grant.  But  building  did  not  begin  till  1870. 
All  went  well  till  1873,  when  a  great  panic  swept  over  the 
country  and  the  road  became  bankrupt.  It  then  extended 
from  Duluth  to  Bismarck.  Two  years  later  the  company  was 
reorganized,  and  the  road  was  finished  in  1883.2 

Wheat  Fields  of  Dakota.  — During  the  panic  certain  of  the 
directors  of  the  road  bought  great  tracts  of  land  from  the 
company,  paying  for  them  with  the  railroad  bonds.  On  some 
of  these  lands  in  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  an 
attempt  was  made  to  raise  wheat  in  1876.  It  proved  successful, 
and  the  next  year  a  wave  of  emigration  set  strongly  toward 
Dakota.  In  1860  there  were  not  5000  people  in  Dakota;  in 
1870  there  were  but  14,000,  mostly  miners  ;  in  1880  there  were 
135,000. 

Prairie  Homes.  —  These  newcomers* — homesteaders,  as  they 
were  often  called  —  broke  up  the  prairie,  planted  wheat,  raised 
sheep  and  cattle,  and  lived  at  first  in  a  dugout,  or  hole  dug  in 
the  side  of  a  depression  in  the  prairie.  This  was  roofed  (about 
the  level  of  the  prairie)  with  thick  boards  covered  with  sods. 
After  a  year  or  two  in  such  a  home  the  settler  would  build  a 
sod  house.  The  walls,  two  feet  thick,  were  made  of  sods  cut 
like  great  bricks  from  the  prairie.  The  roof  would  be  of 
boards  covered  with  shingles  or  oftener  with  sods,  and  the 

1  For  conditions  on  which  land  could  be  secured  before  this,  see  p.  302. 

2  The  history  of  the  railroads  across  the  continent  is  told  in  Cy.  Warman's 
Story  of  the  Railroad;  for  the  Northern  Pacific,  read  pp.  179-196. 

MCM.    BRIEF  —  24 


400 


ECONOMIC   DEVELOPMENT 


Log  cabin  with  sod  roof. 

walls  inside  would  sometimes  be  whitewashed.  Near  water- 
courses a  few  settlers  found  enough  trees  to  make  log  cabins. 

The  Ranches.  —  Stretching  across  the  country  from  Montana 
and  Dakota  to  Arizona  lay  the  grass  region,  the  great  ranch 
country,  where  herds  of  cattle  grazed  and  were  driven  to  the 
railroads  to  be  taken  to  market.  In  later  years  this  became 
also  the  greatest  sheep-raising  and  wool-producing  region  in 
the  Union. 

Buffaloes  and  Indians.  —  With  the  building  of  the  rail- 
roads and  the  coming  of  the  settlers  the  reckless  slaughter  of 
the  buffalo  and  the  crowding  of  the  Indians  began. ^     To-day 

1  White  men  eager  for  land  invaded  the  Indian  reservations ;  acts  of  violence 
were  frequent,  and  shameful  frauds  were  perpetrated  by  the  agents  of  the 
government.  The  Indians,  in  retaliation,  killed  settlers  and  ran  off  horses, 
mules,  and  cattle.  There  were  uprisings  of  the  Sioux  in  Minnesota  (1862)  and 
in  Montana  (1866)  ;  but  the  worst  offenders  were  the  Apaches  of  Arizona, 
and  against  them  General  Crook  waged  war  in  1872.  Toward  the  close  of 
1872  the  Modocs  left  their  reservation  in  Oregon,  took  refuge  in  the  Lava  Beds  in 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY  FROM    1860  TO   1880        401 

the  buffalo  is  as  rare  an  animal  in  the  West  as  in  the  East ;  and 
after  many  wars  and  treaties  with  the  Indians,  they  now  hold 
less  than  one  hundredth  of  the  land  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

Mechanical  Progress. —  The  period  1860  to  1880  was  one  of 
great  mechanical  and  industrial  progress.  During  this  time 
dynamite  and  the  barbed-wire  fence  were  introduced ;  the  com- 
pressed-air rock  drill,  the  typewriter,  the  Westinghouse  air 
brake,  the  Janney  car  coupler,  the  cable  car,  the  trolley  sys- 
tems, the  electric  light, 
the  search  light,  electric 
motors,  the  Bell  tele- 
phone, the  phonograph, 
the  gas  engine,  and  a 
host  of  other  inventions 
and  mechanical  devices 
were  invented.  To  sat- 
isfy the  demands  of 
trade  and  commerce, 
great  works  of  engi- 
neering were  under- 
taken, such  as  twenty 
years  before  could  not 
have  been  attempted. 
The  jetties  constructed  y 
by   James   B.    Eads   in 


Custer's  fight. 


the  South  Pass  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  to  force  that 
river  to  keep  open  its  own  channel ;  the  steel-arch  railroad 
bridge  built  by  Eads  across  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Louis;  the 
Roebling  suspension  bridges  over  the  Ohio  at  Cincinnati   and 


northern  California,  and  defied  the  troops  sent  to  drive  them  back.  General 
Can  by  and  several  others  were  treacherously  murdered  at  a  conference  (1873), 
and  a  vs^ar  of  several  months'  duration  follovs^ed  before  the  Modocs  were  forced 
to  surrender.  In  1874  the  Cheyennes  (she-enz'),  enraged  at  the  slaughter 
of  the  buffaloes  by  the  whites,  made  cattle  raids,  and  more  fighting  ensued. 
An  attempt  to  remove  the  Sioux  to  a  new  reservation  led  to  yet  another  war 
in  1876,  in  which  Lieutenant-Colonel  Custer  and  his  force  of  262  men  were  mas- 
sacred in  Montana.    Read  Longfellow's  poem  The  Bevenge  of  Bain-in-the-Face. 


402 


ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 


over  the  East  River  at  New  York;  and  the  successful  laying 
of  the  Atlantic  cable  (1866)  by  Cyrus  W.  Field,  are  a  few  of 
the  great  mechanical  triumphs  of  this  period. 

Industrial  Development.  —  Industries  once  carried  on  in  the 
household  or  in  small  factories  were  conducted  on  a  large  scale 
by  great  corporations.  The  machine  for  making  tin  cans  made 
possible  the  canning  industry.  The  self-binding  harvester  and 
reaper  made  possible  the  immense  grain  fields  of  the  West. 
The  production  and  refining  of  petroleum  became  an  industry  of 


steel  mUl. 

great  importance.  The  great  flour  mills  of  Minneapolis,  the  iron 
and  steel  mills  of  Pennsylvania,  the  packing  houses  of  Chicago 
and  Kansas  City,  and  many  other  enterprises  were  the  direct 
result  of  the  use  of  machinery. 

Rise  of  Great  Corporations.  —  Trades  and  occupations,  indus- 
tries of  all  sorts,  began  to  concentrate  and  combine,  and  large 
corporations  took  the  place  of  individuals  and  small  companies. 
In  place  of  many  little  railroads  there  were  now  trunk  lines. ^ 


1  Thus  (1869)  the  New  York  Central  (from  Albany  to  Buffalo)  and  the  Hud- 
son River  (from  New  York  to  Albany)  were  combined  and  formed  one  railroad 
under  one  management  from  New  York  to  Buffalo. 


GROWTH   OF  THE  COUNTRY  FROM    1860  TO   1880       403 


Settled  area  in  1860    V," 
|:.-..;..:-.iDots  indicate  regions  settled 


Settled  area  in  i88o. 


In  place  of  many  little  telegraph  companies,  express  companies, 
and  oil  companies  there  were  now  a  few  large  ones. 

Immigration.  —  This  industrial  development,  in  spite  of 
machinery,  could  not  have  been  so  great  were  it  not  for  the  in- 
crease in  population, 
wealth,  the  facilities 
of  transportation, 
and  the  great  num- 
ber of  workingmen. 
These  were  largely 
immigrants,  who 
came  by  hundreds  of 
thousands  year  after 
year.  From  about 
90,000  in  1862,  the 
number    who     came 

each  year  rose  to  more  than  450,000  in  1873  ;  and  then  fell  to" 
less  than  150,000  in  1878.  The  population  of  the  whole  coun- 
try in  1880  was  50,000,000,  of  whom  more  than  6,500,000  were 
of  foreign  birth. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  near  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1858 
and  later  brought  to  that  region  many  thousand  miners. 

2.  Their  presence  in  that  wild  region  made  local  government  necessary, 
and  by  1868  seven  new  territories  were  formed  (Colorado,  Dakota,  Nevada, 
Idaho,  Arizona,  Montana,  Wyoming),  and  one  of  them  (Nevada,  1864)  was 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state. 

3.  Means  of  communication  with  California  and  the  far  West  were  im- 
proved. First  came  the  Pony  Express,  then  the  telegraph,  and  finally  the 
railroad. 

4.  The  construction  of  the  railroad  across  the  middle  of  the  country 
was  followed  by  the  building  of  another  near  the  northern  border. 

5.  Railroad  building,  the  Homestead  Law,  and  the  success  of  the  Dakota 
wheat  farms,  led  to  the  rapid  development  of  the  new  Northwest. 

6.  Quite  as  noticeable  is  the  mechanical  and  industrial  progress  of  the 
country,  the  rise  of  great  corporations,  and  the  flood  of  immigrants  that 
came  to  our  shores  each  year. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

A    QUARTER   CENTURY    OF   STRUGGLE    OVER    INDUSTRIAL 
QUESTIONS,   1872   TO   1897 

The  National  Labor  Party.  —  The  changed  industrial  con- 
ditions of  the  period  1860-80  affected  politics,  and  after 
1868  the  questions  which  divided  parties  became  more  and 
more  industrial  and  financial.  The  rise  of  the  national  labor 
party  and  its  demands  shows  this  very  strongly.  Ever  since 
1829  the  workingman  had  been  in  politics  in  some  of  the 
states,  and  had  secured  many  reforms.  But  no  national  labor 
congress  was  held  till  1865,  after  which  like  congresses  were 
held  each  year  till  1870,  when  a  national  convention  was  called 
to  form  a  "National  Labor-Reform  Party." 

The  demands  of  the  party  thus  formed  (1872)  were  for 
taxation  of  government  bonds  (p.  387);  repeal  of  the  national 
banking  system  (p.  382) ;  an  eight-hour  working  day  ;  exclusion 
of  the  Chinese  ;  ^  and  no  land  grants  to  corporations  (p.  398). 
At  every  presidential  election  since  this  time,  nominations  have 
been  made  by  one  or  more  labor  parties. 

The  Prohibition  Party.  —  Another  party  which  first  nomi- 
nated presidential  candidates  in  1872  was  that  of  the  Prohibi- 

1  After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  Chinamen,  called  coolies,  came  to 
that  state  in  considerable  numbers.  But  they  attracted  little  attention  till  1852, 
when  the  governor  complained  that  they  were  sent  out  by  Chinese  capitalists 
under  contract,  that  the  gold  they  dug  was  sent  to  China,  and  that  they  worked 
for  wages  so  low  that  no  American  could  compete  with  them.  Attempts  were 
then  made  to  stop  their  importation,  especially  by  heavy  taxes  laid  on  them. 
But  the  courts  declared  such  taxation  illegal,  and  appeals  were  then  made  to 
Congress  for  relief.  No  action  was  taken  ;  but  in  1868  an  old  treaty  with  China 
was  amended,  and  to  import  Chinamen  without  their  free  consent  was  made  a 
penal  offense.  This  did  not  prevent  their  coming,  so  the  demand  was  made  for 
their  exclusion  by  act  of  Congress. 

404 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,    1872  TO   1897  405 

tionists.  After  much  agitation  of  temperance  reform,^  efforts 
were  made  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  liquor  entirely,  and  between 
1851  and  1855  eight  states  adopted  prohibitory  laws.  Then 
the  movement  subsided  for  a  while,  but  in  1869  it  began  again 
and  in  that  year  the  National  Prohibition  Reform  party  was 
founded.  In  1872  its  platform  called  for  the  suppression  of  , 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor,  and  for  a  long  series  of  other 
reforms.  Every  four  years  since  that  time  the  Prohibition 
party  has  named  its  candidates. 

Grant  Reelected.  —  In  1872  no  great  importance  was  attached 
to  either  of  these  parties  (the  Labor  and  the  Prohibition).  The 
contest  lay  between  General  Grant,  the  Republican  candidate 
for  President,  and  Horace  Greeley,^  the  Liberal  Republican 
nominee  (p.  390),  who  was  supported  also  by  most  of  the  Dem- 
ocrats.    Grant  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

The  Panic  of  1873.  —  Scarcely  had  Grant  been  reinaugurated 
when  a  serious  panic  swept  over  the  country.  The  period  since 
the  war  had  been  one  of  great  prosperity,  wild  speculation, 
and  extraordinary  industrial  development.  Since  1869  some 
24,000  miles  of  railroad  had  been  built.  But  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  prosperity,  the  city  of  Chicago  was  almost  destroyed  by  fire 
(1871),^  and  the  next  year  a  large  part  of  the  city  of  Boston 

1  In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  liquor  was  a  part  of  the 
workingman's  wages.  Every  laborer  on  the  farm,  in  the  harvest  field,  every 
sailor,  and  men  employed  in  many  of  the  trades,  as  carpenters  and  masons, 
demanded  daily  grog  at  the  cost  of  the  employer.  About  1810  a  temperance 
movement  put  an  end  to  much  of  this.  But  intemperance  remained  the  curse 
of  the  workingman  down  to  the  days  of  Van  Buren  and  Tyler,  when  a  greater 
temperance  movement  began. 

2  Horace  Greeley  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1811,  and  while  still  a  lad 
learned  the  trade  of  printer.  When  he  went  to  New  York  in  1831,  he  was  so 
poor  that  he  walked  the  streets  in  search  of  work.  During  the  Harrison  cam- 
paign in  1840  he  edited  the  Log  Cabin,  a  Whig  newspaper,  and  soon  after  the 
election  founded  the  New  York  Tribune.  In  1848  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  Congress.  He  was  one  of  tiie  signers  of  the  bond  which  released  Jefferson 
Davis  from  imprisonment  after  the  Civil  War.  Greeley  overexerted  himself  in 
the  campaign  of  1872,  and  died  a  few  weeks  after  the  election. 

8  The  fire  is  said  to  have  been  started  by  a  cow  kicking  over  a  lamp  in  a 
small  barn.  Nearly  2200  acres  were  burned  over,  some  17,450  buildings  con- 
sumed, 200  lives  were  lost,  and  98,000  people  made  homeless. 


406  ECONOMIC    DEVELOPMENT 

was  burned.  This  led  to  a  demand  for  money  to  rebuild  them. 
Many  speculative  enterprises  failed.  The  railroads  that  were 
being  built  ahead  of  population,  in  order  to  open  up  new  lands, 
could  not  sell  their  bonds,  and  when  a  banker  who  was  backing 
one  of  the  railroads  failed,  the  panic  started.  Thousands  of 
business  men  failed,  and  the  wages  of  workingmen  were  cut 
down. 

The  Specie  Payment  Act.  —  The   cry   was   then   raised   for 
more  money,  and   (in  1874)   Congress   attempted  to  increase, 
or   "inflate,"  the    amount  of   greenbacks  in  circulation   from 
V  ;    1356,000,000  to  1400,000,000.     Grant  vetoed  the  bill.     What 
/^   shall  be  done  with  the  currency  ?  then  became  the  question  of 
,-1    the  hour.     Paper  money  was  still  circulating  at  less  than  its 
^    face  value  as  measured  in  coin.     To  make  it  worth  face  value, 
^     Congress  (1875)  decided  to  resume  specie  payment ;  that  is,  the 
fractional  currency  was  to  be  called  in  and  redeemed  in  10,  25, 
and  50  cent  silver  pieces  ;  and  after  January  1, 1879,  all  green- 
backs were  to  be  redeemed  in  specie. 

Political  Parties  in  1876.^  —  This  policy  of  resumption  of 
specie  payment  did  not  please  everybody.  A  Greenback  party 
was  formed,  which  called  for  the  repeal  of  the  Specie  Payment 
Act  and  for  the  issue  of  more  greenbacks.  That  the  presiden- 
tial election  would  be  close  was  certain,  and  this  certainty  did 
much  to  lead  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  to  take  up 
some  of  the  demands  of  the  Prohibition,  Liberal  Republican, 
and  Labor  parties.  Thus  both  the  Democratic  and  Republican 
y  parties  called  for  no  more  land  grants  to  corporations,  and  for 
the  exclusion  of  the  Chinese. 

1  The  close  of  the  first  century  of  our  national  independence  was  the  occa- 
sion of  a  great  exposition  in  Philadelphia  —  the  first  of  many  that  have  been 
held  in  our  country  on  centennial  anniversaries  of  great  events  in  our  history. 
The  Philadelphia  exposition  w^as  first  planned  as  a  mammoth  fair  for  the  display 
of  the  industries  and  arts  of  the  United  States  ;  but  Congress  having  approved 
the  idea,  all  foreign  nations  were  invited  to  take  part,  and  thirty-three  did  so. 
The  main  building  covered  some  twenty  acres  and  was  devoted  to  the  display  of 
manufactures.  The  exposition  occupied  also  four  other  large  buildings  devoted 
to  machinery,  agriculture,  etc.,  of  which  Horticultural  Hall  and  Memorial  Hall 
are  still  standing. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO   1897 


407 


HPiSH 

Memorial  Hall,  Philadelphia. 


The  Election  of  1876.  —  The  Republican  candidate  for 
President  was  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  ;  ^  the  Democratic  candi- 
date was  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  The  admission  of  Colorado  in 
August,  1876,  made  thirty-eight  states,  casting  369  electoral 
votes.  A  candidate  to  be  elected  therefore  needed  at  least  185 
electoral  votes.  So  close  was  the  contest  that  the  election  of 
Hayes  was  claimed  by  exactly  185  votes.  This  number  in- 
cluded the  votes  of  South  Carolina,  Florida,  Louisiana,  and 
Oregon,  in  each  of  which  a  dispute  was  raging  as  to  whether 
Republican  or  Democratic  electors  were  chosen.  Both  sets 
claimed  to  have  been  elected,  and  both  met  and  voted. 

Electoral  Commission.  —  The  electoral  votes  of  the  states  are 
counted  in  the  presence  of  the  House  and  Senate.  The  ques- 
tion then  became.  Which  of  these  duplicate  sets  shall  Congress 
count  ?  To  determine  the  question  an  electoral  commission  of 
fifteen  members  was  created. ^     It  decided  that  the  votes  of  the 

1  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1822,  and  after  graduating  from 
Kenyon  College  and  the  Harvard  Law  School  settled  at  Fremont,  Ohio,  but  soon 
moved  to  Cincinnati.  At  the  opening  of  the  war  he  joined  the  Union  army  and 
by  1865  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  brevet  major  general.  While  still  in  the  army, 
he  was  elected  to  Congress,  served  two  terms,  and  was  then  twice  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio.     In  1875  he  was  elected  for  a  third  term.     He  died  in  1893. 

2  The  commission  consisted  of  five  senators,  five  representatives,  and  five 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  eight  were  Republicans,  and  seven  Democrats. 


408  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

Republican  electors  in  the  four  states  should  be  counted,  and 
Hayes  was  therefore  declared  elected. ^ 

End  of  Carpetbag  Governments.  —  The  inauguration  of  Hayes 
was  followed  by  the  recall  of  United  States  troops  from  the 
South,  and  the  downfall  of  carpetbag  governments  in  South 
Carolina  and  Louisiana.  During  the  first  half  of  Hayes's  term 
the  Democrats  had  control  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  during  the  second  half,  of  the  Senate  as  well.  As  a  result, 
proposed  partisan  measures  either  failed  to  pass  Congress,  or 
were  vetoed  by  the  President. 

The  Year  1877  was  one  of  great  business  depression.  A 
s  strike  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  in  the  summer  of 
'  1877  spread  to  other  railroads  and  became  almost  an  industrial 
insurrection.  Traffic  was  stopped,  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
freight  cars,  machine  shops,  and  other  property  was  destroyed, 
and  in  the  battles  fought  around  Pittsburg  many  lives  were 
lost.2  Failures  were  numerous  ;  in  1878  more  business  men 
failed  than  in  the  panic  year  1873. 

Silver  Coinage.  —  For  much  of  this  business  depression  the 
financial  policy  of  the  government  was  blamed,  and  when  Con- 
V  gress  assembled  in  1877,  this  policy  was  at  once  attacked.  An 
attempt  to  repeal  the  act  for  resuming  specie  payment  (p.  408) 
was  made,  but  failed. ^  Another  measure,  however,  concerning 
silver  coinage,  was  more  successful. 

Congress  had  dropped  (1873)  the  silver  dollar  from  the  list 

1  By  185  electoral  votes  against  184  for  Tilden.  The  popular  vote  at  the 
election  of  1876  was  (according  to  the  Republican  claim):  for  Hayes,  4,033,768  ; 

\J  for  Tilden,  4,285,992  ;  for  Peter  Cooper  (Greenback-Labor  or  "  Independent  "), 
81,737  ;  for  Green  Clay  Smith  (Prohibition),  9522. 

2  The  strikers'  grievances  were  reduction  of  wages,  irregular  employment, 
irregular  payment  of  wages,  and  forced  patronage  of  company  hotels.     There 

^  were  riots  at  Baltimore,  Chicago,  Reading,  and  other  places  besides  Pittsburg ; 
state  militia  was  called  out  to  quell  the  disorder  ;  and  at  the  request  of  the  state 
governors,  United  States  troops  were  sent  to  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
West  Virginia. 

3  Specie  payment  was  accordingly  begun  on  January  1,  1879,  and  then  for 
the  first  time  since  greenbacks  were  made  legal  tender  they  were  accepted 
everywhere  at  par  with  coin.  By  the  provisicms  of  other  laws,  the  amount  of 
greenbacks  kept  in  circulation  was  fixed  at  $346,681,000. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO   1897  409 

of  coins  to  be  made  at  the  mint.^  Soon  afterward  the  silver 
mines  of  Nevada  began  to  yield  astonishingly,  and  the  price  of 
silver  fell.  This  led  to  a  demand  (by  inflationists  and  silver- 
producers)  that  the  silver  dollar  should  again  be  coined  ;  and 
in  1878  Congress  passed  (over  Hayes's  veto)  the  Bland-Allison 
Act,  which  required  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  buy  not  L^ 
less  than  12,000,000  nor  more  than  $4,000,000  worth  of  silver 
bullion  each  month  and  coin  it  into  dollars. ^ 

**  The  Chinese  must  go.''  —  Another  act  vetoed  by  Hayes  was 
intended  to  stop  the  coming  of  Chinese  to  our  country.  In  1877 
an  anti-Chinese  movement  was  begun  in  San  Francisco  by  the 
workingmen  led  by  Dennis  Kearney.  Open-air  meetings  were 
held,  and  the  demand  for  Chinese  exclusion  was  urged  so  vig- 
orously that  Congress  (1879)  passed  an  act  restricting  Chinese 
immigration.  Hayes  vetoed  this  as  violating  our  treaty  with 
China,  but  (1880)  negotiated  a  new  treaty  which  provided  that 
Congress  might  reguhite  the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers. 

The  Election  of  iSSo  ;  Death  of  Garfield.  —In  1880  there 
were  again  several  parties,  but  the  contest  was  between  the 
Republicans  with  James  A.  Garfield  ^  and  Chester  A.  Arthur 
as  candidates  for  President  and  Vice  President,  and  the  Demo- 

1  The  price  of  silver  in  1872  was  such  that  the  412^  grains  in  the  dollar 
were  worth  $  1.02  in  gold  money.  The  silver  dollar  was  worth  more  as  silver 
bullion  than  as  money,  and  was  therefore  little  used  as  money.  This  dropping 
of  the  silver  dollar  from  the  list  of  coins,  or  ceasing  to  coin  it,  was  called  the 
"demonetization  of  silver." 

2  To  carry  any  number  of  these  "  cart-wheel  dollars"  in  the  pocket  would 
have  been  inconvenient,  because  of  their  size  and  weight.  Provision  was  there- 
fore made  that  the  dollars  might  be  deposited  in  the  United  States  treasury 
and  paper  "  silver  certificates  "  issued  against  them.  Get  specimens  of  different 
kinds  of  paper  money,  read  the  words  printed  on  a  silver  certificate,  and  com- 
pare with  the  wording  on  a  greenback  (United  States  note)  and  on  a  national 
bank  note. 

3  James  A.  Garfield  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1831.  While  still  a  lad,  he  longed 
to  be  a  sailor,  and  failing  in  this,  he  became  a  canal  boatman.  After  a  little 
experience  as  such  he  went  back  to  scliool,  supporting  himself  by  working  as  a 
carpenter  and  teaching  school.  In  1854  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  Williams 
College,  graduated  in  1856,  became  a  teacher  in  Hiram  Institute,  was  elected 
to  the  Ohio  senate  in  1859,  and  joined  the  Union  army  in  1861.  In  1862  he 
was  elected  to  Congress,  took  his  seat  in  December,  1863,  and  continued  to  be  a . 
member  of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives  till  1881. 


410  ECONOMIC   DEVELOPMENT 

crats  with  Winfield  S.  Hancock  and  William  H.  English  as 
leaders. 

Garfield  and  Arthur  were  elected,  and  on  March  4,  1881, 
were  duly  inaugurated.  Four  months  later,  as  the  President 
stood  in  a  railway  station  in  Washington,  a  disappointed  office 
seeker  shot  him  in  the  back.  After  his  death  (September  19, 
1881)  Chester  A.  Arthur  became  President.^ 

Important  Laws,  1881-85.  —  All  parties  had  called  for  anti- 
Chinese  legislation.  The  long-desired  act  was  accordingly 
passed  by  Congress,  excluding  the  Chinese  from  our  country 
for  a  period  of  twenty  years.  Arthur  vetoed  it  as  contrary  to 
our  treaty  with  China.  An  act  "suspending"  the  immigration 
of  Chinese  laborers  for  ten  years  was  then  passed  and  became 
law;  similar  acts  have  been  passed  from  time  to  time  since 
then. 

The  Republicans  (and  Prohibitionists)  had  demanded  the 
suppression  of  polygamy  in  Utah  and  the  neighboring  terri- 
tories. Another  law  (the  Edmunds  Act,  1882)  was  therefore 
enacted  for  this  end.^ 

The  murder  of  Garfield  aroused  a  general  demand  for 
civil  service  reform.  The  Pendleton  Act  (1883)  was  therefore 
enacted  to  secure  appointment  to  office  on  the  ground  of  fitness, 
not  party  service.^ 

1  Chester  Alan  Arthur  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1830,  graduated  from  Union 
College,  became  (1853)  a  lawyer  in  New  York  city,  and  was  (1871-78)  cus- 
toms collector  of  the  port  of  New  York.  In  1880  he  attended  the  national 
Republican  convention  as  a  delegate  from  New  York,  and  was  one  of  the  302 
members  of  that  convention  who  voted  to  the  last  for  the  renomination  of  Grant. 
After  Grant  was  defeated  and  Garfield  nominated,  Arthur  was  named  for  the 
vice  presidency,  in  order  to  appease  the  "  Stalwarts,"  as  the  friends  of  Grant 
were  called. 

2  When  this  failed  to  accomplish  its  purpose,  Congress  (1887)  enacted  an- 
other law  providing  -heavy  penalties  for  polygamy.  The  Mormon  Church  then 
declared  against  the  practice. 

3  The  murder  of  Garfield  led  also  to  a  new  presidential  succession  law.  The 
old  law  provided  that  if  both  the  President  and  the  Vice  President  should  die, 
the  office  should  be  filled  temporarily  by  the  president  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate,  or 
if  there  were  none,  by  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  But  one 
Congress  expired  March  4,  1881,  and  the  next  one  did  not  meet  and  elect  its  pre- 
siding officers  till  December  ;  so  if  Arthur  had  died  before  then,  there  would 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,    1872  TO   1897 


411 


The  cruiser  Boston. 


The  New  Navy.  —  After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  our  navy 
was  suffered  to  fall  into  neglect  and  decay.  The  thirty-seven 
cruisers,  all  but  four  of 
which  were  of  wood;  the 
fourteen  single-turreted 
monitors  built  during  the 
war ;  the  muzzle-loading 
guns,  belonged  to  a  past 
age.  By  1881  this  was 
fully  realized  and  the 
foundation  of  a  new  and 
splendid  navy  was  begun 
by  the  construction  of 
three  unarmored  cruisers 
—  the  Atlanta^  Boston^ 
and  Chicago.  Once  started,  the  new  navy  grew  rapidly,  and  in 
the  course  of  twelve  years  forty-seven  vessels  were  afloat  or  on 
the  stocks.  1 

New  Reforms  Demanded.  —  Meantime  the  wonderful  de- 
velopment of  our  country  caused  a  demand  for  further  re- 
forms. The  chief  employers  of  labor  were  corporations  and 
capitalists,  many  of  whom  abused  the  power  their  wealth  gave 
them.  They  were  accused  of  importing  laborers  under  contract 
and  thereby  keeping  wages  down,  of  getting  special  privileges 
from  legislatures,  and  of  combining  to  fix  prices  to  suit  them- 
selves.    In    the    campaign    of    1884,    therefore,    these   issues 

have  been  no  one  to  act  as  President.  A  new  law  passed  in  1886  provides  that  if 
both  the  presidency  and  the  vice  presidency  become  vacant,  the  presidency  shall 
pass  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  or,  if  there  be  none,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury, or,  if  necessary,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Attorney  General,  Postmaster 
General,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  or  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

1  In  1881,  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely  was  sent  to  plant  a  station  in  the  Arctic 
regions.  Supplies  sent  in  1882  and  1883  failed  to  reach  him,  and  alarm  was  felt 
for  the  safety  of  his  party.  In  1884  a  rescue  expedition  was  sent  out  under  Com- 
mander W.  S.  Schley.  Three  vessels  were  made  ready  by  the  Navy  Department, 
and  a  fourth  by  Great  Britain.  After  a  long  search  Greely  and  six  companions 
were  found  on  the  point  of  starvation  and  five  were  brought  safely  home.  Dur- 
ing their  stay  in  the  Arctic,  they  had  reached  a  point  within  430  miles  of  the 
north  pole,  the  farthest  north  any  white  man  had  then  gone. 


l^ 


412 


ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 


came  to  the  front,  and  demands  were  made  for  (1)  legislation  j 
against  the  importation  of  contract  labor,  (2)  regulation  of  in- 
terstate commerce,  especially 
as    carried    on    by   railways, 

(3)  government    ownership  ^ 
of   telegraphs   and   railways, 

(4)  reduction  of  the  hours  of 
labor,  (5)  bureaus  to  collect  5^ 
and  spread  information  as  to 
labor. 

The  Election  of  1884.—- 
The  Republicans  nominated 
James  G.  Blaine  for  Presi- 
dent ;  the  Democrats,  Grover 
Cleveland.^  The  nomination 
of  Blaine  gave  offense  to 
many  Republicans ;  they  took 
the  name  of  Independents 
and  supported  Cleveland, 
who  was  elected. 
Important  Laws,  1885-89.^ — As  the  two  great  parties, 
Democratic  and  Republican,  had  each  favored  the  passage  of 

1  Grover  Cleveland  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1837.  In  1841  his  father,  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  removed  to  Onondaga  County,  New  York,  where  Grover 
attended  school  and  served  as  clerk  in  the  village  store.  Later  he  taught  for  a 
year  in  the  Institute  for  the  Blind  in  New  York  city  ;  but  soon  began  the  study 
of  law,  and  settled  in  Buffalo.  He  was  assistant  district  attorney  of  Erie  County, 
sheriff  and  mayor  of  Buffalo,  and  in  1882,  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  carried  the  state  by  192,000  plurality.  Both  when  mayor 
and  when  governor  he  was  noted  for  his  free  use  of  the  veto  power. 

2  In  1885  the  Bartholdi  statue  of  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World  was 
formally  received  at  New  York.  It  was  a  gift  from  the  people  of  France  to  the 
people  of  America.  A  hundred  thousand  Frenchmen  contributed  the  money  for 
the  statue,  and  the  pedestal  was  built  with  money  raised  in  the  United  States. 
An  island  in  New  York  harbor  was  chosen  for  the  site,  and  there  the  statue  was 
unveiled  in  October,  1886.    The  top  of  Liberty's  torch  is  305  feet  above  low  water. 

In  September,  1886,  a  severe  earthquake  occurred  near  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  the  vibrations  of  which  were  felt  as  far  away  as  Cape  Cod  and  Mil- 
waukee. In  Charleston  most  of  the  houses  were  made  unfit  for  habitation, 
many  persons  were  killed,  and  some  $8,000,000  worth  of  property  was  destroyed. 


Grover  Cleveland. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO   1897 


413 


certain  laws  demanded  by  the  labor  parties,  these  reforms  were 
now  obtained. 

1.  An  Anti-Contract-Labor  Law  (1885)  forbade  any  person, 
company,  or  corporation  to  bring  aliens  into  the  United  States 
under  contract  to  perform  labor  or  service. 

2.  An  Interstate  Commerce  Act  (1887)  provided  for  a  com- 
mission whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  all  charges  for  the  carriage 
of  passengers  or  freight  are  reasonable  and  just,  and  that  no 
unfair  special  rates  are  made 
for  favored  shippers. 

3.  A  Bureau  of  Labor 
was  established  and  put  in 
charge  of  a  commissioner 
whose  duty  it  is  to  "  diffuse 
among  the  people  of  the 
United  States  useful  infor- 
mation on  subjects  connected 
with  labor."  Such  bureaus 
or  departments  already  ex- 
isted in  many  of  the  states. 

The  Surplus.  —  These 
old  issues  disposed  of,  the 
continued  growth  and  pros- 
perity of  our  country 
brought  up  new  ones.  For 
some  time  past  the  revenue 
of  the  government  had  so  exceeded  its  expenses  that  on  De- 
cember 1,  1887,  there  was  a  surplus  of  $50,000,000  in  the 
treasury.     Six  months  later  this  had  risen  to  1103,000,000. 

Three  plans  were  suggested  for  disposing  of  the  surplus. 
Some  thought  it  should  be  distributed  among  the  states  as  in 
1837.  Some  were  for  buying  government  bonds  and  so  redu- 
cing the  national  debt.  Others  urged  a  reduction  of  the  annual 
revenue  by  cutting  down  the  tariff  rates.  The  President  in  his 
message  in  1887  asked  for  such  a  reduction,  and  in  1888  the 
House  passed  a  new  tariff  bill  which  the  Senate  rejected. 


The  statue  of  Liberty. 


414  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

The  Campaign  of  1888.  —  In  the  campaign  of  1888,  therefore, 
the  tariff  issue  came  to  the  front.  The  Democrats  renominated 
Grover  Cleveland  for  President,  and  called  for  a  tariff  for 
revenue  only,  and  for  no  more  revenue  than  was  needed  to  pay 
the  cost  of  economical  government.  The  Republicans  nomi- 
nated Benjamin  Harrison  ^  on  a  platform  favoring  a  protective 
tariff,  and  elected  him. 

New  States.  —  Both  the  great  parties  had  called  for  the 
admission  of  new  states.  Just  before  the  end  of  Cleveland's 
term,  therefore,  an  enabling  act  was  passed  for  North  and  South 
Dakota,  Washington,  and  Montana,  which  were  accordingly 
admitted  to  the  Union  a  few  months  later  (1889).  Idaho  and 
Wyoming  were  admitted  the  following  year  (1890),  and  Utah 
in  1896. 

New  Laws  of  1890.  —  The  administration  of  affairs  having 
again  passed  to  the  Republican  party,  it  enacted  the  McKinley 
Tariff  Law,  which  slightly  raised  the  average  rate  of  duties  ; 
the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act,  forbidding  combinations  to  re- 
strain trade;  and  a  new  financial  measure  which  also  bore  the 
name  of  Senator  Sherman.  The  law  (p.  409)  requiring  the 
purchase  and  coinage  of  at  least  $2,000,000  worth  of  silver 
bullion  each  month  did  not  satisfy  the  silver  men.  They 
wanted  a  free-coinage  law,  giving  any  man  the  privilege  of 
having  his  silver  coined  into  dollars  (p.  224).  As  they  had  a 
majority  of  the  Senate,  they  passed  a  free-coinage  bill,  but  the 
House  rejected  it.  A  conference  followed,  and  the  so-called 
Sherman  Act  was  passed,  increasing  the  amount  of  silver  to  be 
bought  each  month  by  the  government. ^ 

1  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  grandson  of  President  William  Henry  Harrison, 
was  born  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  in  1833.  He  was  educated  at  Miami  Uni- 
versity, studied  law,  settled  at  Indianapolis,  and  when  the  war  opened,  was  re- 
porter to  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana.  Joining  the  volunteers  as  a  lieutenant, 
he  was  brevetted  brigadier  general  before  the  war  ended.  In  1881  he  became 
a  senator  from  Indiana.     He  died  in  1901. 

2  This  required  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  buy  each  month  4,500,000 
ounces  of  silver,  pay  for  it  with  treasury  notes,  and  redeem  the  notes  on  demand 
in  coin.  After  July  1,  1891,  the  silver  so  purchased  need  not  be  coined,  but 
might  be  stored  and  silver  certificates  issued  against  it. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO  1897  415 

The  Congressional  Election  of  1890.  —  The  effect  of  the  in- 
creased tariff  rates,  the  Sherman  Act,  and  large  expenditures 
by  Congress  was  at  once  apparent,  and  in  the  congressional 
election  of  1890  the  Republicans  were  beaten.  The  Democratic 
minority  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  turned  into  a 
great  majority,  and  in  both  House  and  Senate  appeared  mem-  ^ 
bers  of  a  new  party  called  the  Farmers'  Alliance. ^ 

Presidential  Campaign  of  1892.  —  The  success  of  the  Alliance 
men  in  the  election  of  1890,  and  the  conviction  that  neither  the 
Democrats  nor  the  Republicans  would  further  all  their  de- 
mands, led  to  a  meeting  of  Alliance  and  Labor  leaders  in  May, 
1891,  and  the  formation  of  "  the  People's  Party  of  the  United 
States  of  America."  In  1892  this  People's  Party,  or  the 
Populists,  as  they  were  called,  nominated  James  B.  Weaver  for 
President,  cast  a  million  votes,  and  secured  the  election  of^ 
four  senators  and  eleven  representatives  in  Congress.  The 
Republicans  renominated  Harrison  for  President.  But  the 
Democrats  secured  majorities  in  the  House  and  the  Senate,  and  V 
elected  Cleveland. ^ 

The  Panic  of  1893.  —  When  Cleveland's  second  inauguration 
took  place,  March  4,  1893,  our  country  had  already  entered  a 
period  of  panic  and  business  depression.  Trade  had  fallen  off. 
Money  was  hard  to  borrow.  Foreigners  who  held  our  stocks 
and  bonds  sought  to  sell  them,  and  a  great  amount  of  gold  was 
drawn  to  Europe.  So  bad  did  business  conditions  become  that 
the  President  called  Congress  to  meet  in  special  session  in 
August  to  remedy  matters. 

The  silver  dollars  coined  by  the  government  were  issued 
and  accepted  by  the  government  at  their  face  value,  and  circu- 

1  Soon  after  the  war  the  farmers  in  the  great  agricultural  states  had  formed 
associations  under  such  names  as  the  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  Patrons  of 
Industry,  Agricultural  Wheel,  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  others.  About  1886  they 
began  to  unite,  and  formed  the  National  Agricultural  Wheel  and  the  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Cooperative  Union.  In  1889  these  and  others  were  united  in  a 
convention  at  St.  Louis  into  the  Farmers'Alliance  and  Industrial  Union. 

2  The  electoral  vote  was  :  for  Cleveland,  277  ;  Harrison,  145  ;  Weaver,  22. 
The  popular  vote  was  :  Democratic,  5,566,543  ;  Republican,  6,175,582  ;  Popu- 
list, 1,040,886  ;  Prohibition,  255,841  ;  Socialist  Labor,  21,532. 

McM.   BRIEF —  25 


416  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

lated  on  a  par  with  gold,  although  the  price  of  silver  bullion 
had  fallen  so  low  that  the  metal  in  a  silver  dollar  was  worth 
less  than  seventy  cents.  Many  people  believed  the  business 
panic  was  due  to  fears  that  the  government  could  not  much 
longer  keep  the  increasing  volume  of  silver  currency  at  par 
with  gold.  Therefore  Congress  repealed  part  of  the  Sherman 
Act  of  1890,  so  as  to  stop  the  purchase  of  more  silver. 

The  Wilson  Tariff.  —  The  business  revival  which  the  ma- 
jority of  Congress  now  expected,  did  not  come.  Failures  con- 
tinued ;  mills  remained  closed,  gold  continued  to  leave  the 
country,  and  government  receipts  were  $34,000,000  less  than 
expenditures  when  the  year  ended.  By  the  close  of  the  autumn 
of  1893,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  were  out  of  employ- 
ment and  many  in  want.  In  this  condition  of  affairs  Congress 
met  in  regular  session  (December,  1893).  The  Democrats  were 
in  control  of  both  branches,  and  were  pledged  to  revise  the 
tariff.  A  bill  was  therefore  passed,  cutting  down  some  of  the 
tariff  rates  (the  Wilson  Act).^ 

Nobody  expected  that  the  revised  tariff  would  yield  enough 
money  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government.  One  section 
of  the  law  therefore  provided  that  all  yearly  incomes  above 
$4000  should  be  taxed  two  per  cent.  Though  Congress  had 
levied  an  income  tax  thirty  years  before,  its  right  to  do  so  was 
now  denied  by  many,  and  the  Supreme  Court  decided  (1895) 
that  the  income  tax  was  unconstitutional.^ 

Australian  Ballot.  —  One  great  reform  which  must  not  go 
unnoticed  was  the  introduction  of  the  Australian  or  secret  bal- 

1  Cleveland  objected  to  certain  features  of  the  bill,  and  refused  to  sign  it ; 
but  he  did  not  veto  it.  By  the  Constitution,  if  the  President  neither  signs  a  bill 
nor  returns  it  with  his  veto  within  ten  days  (Sunday  excepted)  after  he 
receives  it,  the  bill  becomes  a  law  without  his  signature,  provided  Congress 
has  not  meanwhile  adjourned.  If  Congress  adjourns  before  the  ten-day  limit  ex- 
pires and  the  President  does  not  sign,  then  the  bill  does  not  become  a  law,  but 
is  "pocket  vetoed." 

2  Because  Congress  had  made  the  tax  uniform  —  the  same  on  incomes  of 
the  same  amount  everywhere  —  instead  of  fixing  the  total  amount  to  be  raised 
and  dividing  it  among  the  states  according  to  population,  as  required  by  the 
Constitution  in  the  case  of  direct  taxes. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO   1897  417 

lot.  The  purpose  of  this  system  of  voting,  first  used  in  Aus- 
tralia, is  to  enable  the  voter  to  prepare  his  ballot  in  a  booth 
by  himself  and  deposit  it  without  any  one  knowing  for  whom  he 
votes.  The  system  was  first  used  in  our  country  in  Massachu- 
setts and  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  1888.  So  successful  was  it 
that  ten  states  adopted  it  the  next  year,  and  by  1894  it  was  in  y 
use  in  all  but  seven  of  the  forty-four  states. 

Negroes  Disfranchised.  —  Six  of  the  seven  were  Southern 
states  where  negroes  were  numerous.  After  the  fall  of  the 
carpetbag  governments  illegal  means  were  often  used  to  keep 
negroes  from  the  polls  and  prevent  "  negro  domination "  in 
these  states.  Later  legal  methods  were  tried  instead:  the  pay- 
ment of  taxes,  and  sometimes  such  an  educational  qualifica- 
tion as  the  ability  to  read,  were  required  of  voters;  but  the 
laws  were  so  framed  as  to  exclude  many  negroes  and  few 
whites.  Mississippi  was  the  first  state  to  amend  her  con- 
stitution for  this  purpose  (1890),  and  nearly  all  the  Southern 
states  have  followed  her  example.^ 

The  Free  Coinage  Issue.  —  Now  that  the  treasury  had 
ceased  to  buy  silver,  the  demand  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver 
was  renewed.  The  Republicans  in  their  national  platform  in 
1896  declared  against  it,  whereupon  thirty -four  delegates  from 
the  silver  states  (Idaho,  Montana,  South  Dakota,  Colorado, 
Utah,  and  Nevada)  left  the  convention.  The  Democratic 
party  declared  for  free  coinage,^  but  many  Democrats  ( "  gold 
Democrats")  thereupon  formed  a  new  party,  called  the 
National  Democratic,  and  nominated  candidates  on  a  gold- 
standard  platform.  Both  the  great  parties  were  thus  split  on 
the  issue  of  free  coinage  of  silver. 

1  The  franchise  has  been  slightly  narrowed  in  some  Northern  states  by  edu- 
cational qualifications ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  in  four  states  it  has  been 
extended  to  women  on  the  same  terms  as  men  —  in  Wyoming  (since  1869), 
Colorado  (since  1893),  Utah  (since  1895),  and  Idaho  (since  1896).  In  nearly 
half  the  states  women  can  now  vote  in  school  elections.  In  Kansas  they  vote 
also  in  municipal  elections. 

2  They  demanded  "the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  both  silver  and  gold 
at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  16  to  1  "  ;  that  is,  that  out  of  one  pound  of  gold 
should  be  coined  as  many  dollars  as  out  of  sixteen  pounds  of  silver. 


418  ECONOMIC   DEVELOPMENT 

The  Campaign  of  1896.  —  The  Republican  party  nominated 
\  William  McKinley^  for  President.  The  Democrats  named 
William  J.  Bryan,  and  he  was  indorsed  by  the  People's  party 
and  the  National  Silver  party. ^  The  campaign  was  most  ex- 
citing. The  country  was  flooded  with  books,  pamphlets,  hand- 
bills, setting  forth  both  sides  of  the  silver  issue  :  Bryan  and 
McKinley  addressed  immense  crowds,  and  on  election  day 
13,900,000  votes  were  cast.     McKinley  was  elected. 

The  Dingley  Tariff.  —  The  excitement  over  silver  was  such 
that  in  the  campaign  the  tariff  question  was  little  considered. 
But  the  Republicans  were  pledged  to  a  revision  of  the  tariff, 
and  accordingly  (July,  1897)  the  Dingley  Bill  passed  Congress 
and  was  approved  by  the  President.  Thus  in  the  course  of 
seven  years  the  change  of  administration  from  one  party  to 
the  other  had  led  to  the  passage  of  three  tariff  acts  —  the 
McKinley  (1890),  the  Wilson  (1894),  and  the  Dingley  (1897). 

Foreign  Complications.  —  It  is  now  time  to  review  our  for- 
eign relations  during  this  period.  Twice  since  1890  they  had 
brought  us  apparently  to  the  verge  of  war. 

The  Chilean  Incident.  —  In  1891,  while  the  United  States 
ship  Baltimore  was  in  the  port  of  Valparaiso,  Chile,  some  sailors 
went  on  shore,  were  attacked  on  the  streets,  and  one  was  killed 
and  several  wounded.  Chile  offered  no  apology  and  no  repara- 
tion to  the  injured,  but  instead  sent  an  offensive  note  about  the 
matter.  Harrison,  in  a  message  to  Congress  (1892),  plainly 
suggested  war.  But  the  offensive  note  was  withdrawn,  a 
proper  apology  was  made,  and  the  incident  ended. 

1  William  McKinley  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1843,  attended  Allegheny  College 
for  a  short  time,  then  taught  a  district  school,  and  was  a  clerk  in  a  country  post 
office.  When  the  Civil  War  opened,  he  joined  the  army  as  a  private  in  a  regi- 
ment in  which  Hayes  was  afterwards  colonel,  served  through  the  war,  and  was 
brevetted  major  for  gallantry  at  Cedar  Creek  and  Fishers  Hill.  The  war  over, 
he  became  a  lawyer,  entered  politics  in  Ohio,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  seven 
Congresses.     From  1892  to  1896  he  was  governor  of  Ohio. 

2  The  Gold  Democrats  nominated  John  M.  Palmer  ;  and  the  Prohibitionists, 
the  National  party,  and  the  Socialist  Labor  party  also  named  candidates.  But 
none  of  these  parties  cast  so  many  as  150,000  popular  votes  or  secured  any 
electoral  votes. 


INDUSTRIAL  QUESTIONS,   1872  TO   1897 


419 


The  Seal  Fisheries.  —  Great  Britain  and  our  country  were 
long  at  variance  over  the  question  of  ownership  of  seals  in  Bering 
Sea.  Our  purpose  was  to  protect  them  from  extermination  by- 
certain  restrictions  on  seal  fishing.  To  settle  our  rights  in 
the  matter,  a  court  of  arbitration  was  appointed  and  met  in 
Paris  in  1893.  The  decision  was  against  us,  but  steps  were 
taken  to  protect  the  seals  from  extermination. ^ 


Hawaiian  boats  with  outriggers. 

Hawaii.  —  Just  before  Harrison  retired  from  office  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  drove  the  queen  from  the  throne. 
A  provisional  government  was  then  established,  commissioners 
were  dispatched  to  Washington,  and  a  treaty  for  the  annexa- 

1  We  contended  that  we  had  jurisdiction  in  Bering  Sea  ;  that  the  seals  rear- 
ing their  young  on  our  islands  in  that  sea  were  our  property  ;  that  even  though 
they  temporarily  went  far  out  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  they  were  under  our 
protection.  Our  revenue  cutters  had  therefore  seized  Canadian  vessels  taking 
seals  in  the  open  sea. 


420  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

tion  of  Hawaii  to  the  United  States  was  drawn  up  and  sent  to 
the  Senate.  President  Cleveland  recalled  the  treaty  and  sought 
to  have  the  queen  restored.  But  the  Hawaiians  in  control 
resisted  and  in  1894  established  a  republic. 

Venezuela.  —  For  many  years  there  was  a  dispute  over  the 
boundary  line  between  British  Guiana  and  Venezuela,  and  in  1895 
it  seemed  likely  to  involve  Venezuela  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Our  government  had  tried  to  bring  about  a  settlement  by 
arbitration.  Great  Britain  refused  to  arbitrate,  and  denied  our 
right  to  interfere.  President  Cleveland  insisted  that  under  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  we  had  a  right,  and  in  December,  1895,  asked 
Congress  to  authorize  a  commission  to  investigate  the  claims  of 
Great  Britain.  This  was  done,  and  great  excitement  at  once 
arose  at  home  and  in  Great  Britain.  But  Great  Britain  and 
\J  Venezuela  soon  submitted  the  question  to  arbitration. 

SUMMARY 

1.  The  wonderful  industrial  growth  of  our  country  between  1860  and 
1880  brought  up  for  settlement  grave  industrial  and  financial  questions. 

2.  The  failure  of  the  two  great  parties  to  take  up  these  questions  at 
once,  caused  the  formation  of  many  new  parties,  such  as  the  National  Labor, 
the  Prohibition,  the  Liberal  Republican,  and  the  People's  party. 

3.  Some  of  their  demands  were  enacted  into  laws,  as  the  silver  coinage 
act,  the  exclusion  of  the  Chinese,  the  anti-contract-labor  and  interstate 
commerce  acts,  the  establishment  of  a  national  labor  bureau,  and  the  anti- 
trust act.  -^ 

4.  In  1890-97  the  tariff  was  three  times  revised  by  the  McKinley,  Wil- 
son, and  Dingley  acts. 

5.  In  the  political  world  the  most  notable  events  were  the  contested 
election  of  1876-77  ;  the  recall  of  United  States  troops  from  the  South,  and 
the  fall  of  carpetbag  governments ;  the  assassination  of  Garfield ;  and  the 
two  defeats  of  the  national  Republican  ticket  (1884  and  1892). 

6.  In  the  financial  world  the  chief  events  were  the  panics  of  1873  and 
1893,  the  resumption  of  specie  payment  (1879),  and  the  free-silver  issue. 

7.  In  the  world  at  large  we  had  trouble  with  Chile,  Hawaii,  and  Great 
Britain. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 


Nassau    ^ 

■'^ 

^     ^ 

SCALE  OF  MILES 

160        260        360 

Havana 

<^^"-^ 

^ 

^>      ._ 

I8LE  OF 
PINES 

^^ 

4-               '    C 

.. 

JAMAICA^P^ 

T  T 

Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 


THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN,  AND  LATER  EVENTS 

The  Cuban  Rebellion.  —  In  February,  1895,  the  Cubans,  for 
the  sixth  time  in  fifty  years,  rose  in  rebellion  against  Spain, 
and  attempted  to  form  a  republic.  These  proceedings  con- 
cerned us  for  several  reasons.  American  trade  with  Cuba  was 
interrupted  ;  Ameri- 
can money  invested 
in  Cuban  mines,  rail- 
roads, and  planta- 
tions might  be  lost; 
our  ports  were  used 
by  the  Cubans  in  fit- 
ting out  military  ex- 
peditions which  our 
government  was  forced  to  stop  at  great  expense  ;  the  cruelty 
with  which  the  war  was  waged  aroused  indignation.  During 
the  summer  of  1897  the  suffering  of  Cuban  non-combatants  was 
so  great  that  our  people  began  to  send  them  food  and  medical  aid. 

Destruction  of  the  Maine.  —  While  our  people  were  engaged 
in  this  humane  work,  our  battleship  Maine,  riding  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor  of  Havana,  was  blown  up  (February  15,  1898)  and  two  /^ 
hundred  and  sixty  of  her  sailors  killed.  War  was  now  inevi- 
table, and  on  April  19  Congress  adopted  a  resolution  demand- 
ing that  Spain  should  withdraw  from  Cuba,  and  authorizing  the 
President  to  compel  her  to  leave  if  necessary.  ^  Spain  at  once 
severed  diplomatic  relations,  and  (April  21, 1898)  war  began. 

1  At  the  same  time  it  was  resolved,  "That  the  United  States  hereby  disclaims 
any  disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  or  control  over 
said  island,  except  for  the  pacification  thereof,  and  asserts  its  determination, 
when  that  is  accomplished,  to  leave  the  government  and  control  of  the  island  to 
its  people." 

421 


422 


ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 


The  Battle  of  Manila  Bay.  —  A  fleet  which  had  assembled 
at  Key  West  sailed  at  once  to  blockade  Havana  and  other  ports 
on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  Another  under  Commodore  Dewey 
sailed  from  Hongkong  to  attack  the  Spanish  fleet  in  the  Phil- 
ippine Islands.  Dewey  found  it  in  Manila  Bay,  where  on 
the  morning  of  May  1,  1898,  he  attacked  and  destroyed  it  with- 
V  out  losing  a  man  or  a  ship.     The  city  of  Manila  was  then 

blockaded,  and  General  Merritt 
with  twenty  thousand  men  was 
sent  across  the  Pacific  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  Philippines. 

Blockade  of  Cervera's  Fleet  — 
Meantime  a  second  Spanish  fleet, 
under  Admiral  Cervera  (thair- 
va'ra),  sailed  from  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands.  Acting  Rear  -  Admiral 
Sampson,  with  ships  which  had  been 
blockading  Havana,  and  Commo- 
dore Schley,  with  a  "  flying  squad- 
j^ji    \'  ^^>       0- irw       ron,"  went  in  search  of   Cervera, 

ti  \  ,r.f'^:'suni  V:3nJ  who,  after  a  Ions:  hunt,  was  found 

BRITISH  </x       \'  jj f.  '  O  ' 

in  the  harbor  of  Santiago  on  the 
south  coast  of  Cuba,  and  at  once 
blockaded.! 

The   Merrimac.  —  The  entrance  to  Santiago  harbor  is  long, 

narrow,  and  defended  by  strong  forts.     In  an  attempt  to  make 

the  blockade  more  certain,  Lieutenant  Hobson  and  a  volunteer 

^  crew  of  seven  men  took  the  collier  (coal  ship)  Merrimac  well 

into  the  harbor  entrance  and  sank  her  in  the  channel  (June  S).^ 

1  When  the  Maine  was  destroyed,  the  battleship  Oregon,  then  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  was  ordered  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard.     Making  her  way  southward  through 

.  the  Pacific,  she  passed  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  steamed  up  the  east  coast  of 
South  America,  and  after  the  swiftest  long  voyage  ever  made  by  a  battleship, 
took  her  place  in  the  blockading  fleet. 

2  The  storm  of  shot  and  shell  from  the  forts  carried  away  some  of  the  Merri- 
mac's  steering  gear,  so  that  Hobson  was  unable  to  sink  the  vessel  at  the  spot 
intended.  The  channel  was  still  navigable.  Kead  the  article  by  Lieutenant 
Hobson  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  December,  1898  to  March,  1899. 


^  rSLANDS 
-'•      CELEBES     SEA 


The  Philippines. 


THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 


423 


A  field  gun  near  Santiago. 


The  little  band  were  made  prisoners  of  war  and  in  time  were 
exchanged. 

Battles  near  Santiago.  —  As  the  fleet  of  Cervera  could  not  be 
attacked  by  water,  it  was  decided  to  capture  Santiago  and  so 
force  him  to  run  out.  Gen- 
eral Shaft er  with  an  army 
was  therefore  sent  to  Cuba, 
and  landed  a  few  miles  from 
the  city  (June  22,  23),  and 
at  once  pushed  forward. 
On  July  1  the  Spanish  posi- 
tions on  two  hills.  El  Caney 
(el  ca-na')  and  San  Juan 
(sahn  hoo-ahn^),  were  car- 
ried by  storm.  1 

The  capture  of  Santiago 
was  now  so  certain  that,  on  July  3,  Cervera's  fleet  dashed  from 
the  harbor  and  attempted  to  break  through  the  blockading 
fleet.  A  running  sea  fight  followed,  and  in  a  few  hours  all  six 
of  the  Spanish  vessels  were  shattered  wrecks  on  the  coast  of 
Cuba.     Not  one  of  our  ships  was  seriously  damaged. 

Two  weeks  later  General  Toral  (t5-rahl')  surrendered  the 
city  of  Santiago,  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba,  and  a  large  army. 

Porto  Rico.  —  General  Miles  now  set  off  with  an  army  to 
capture  Porto  Rico.  He  landed  on  the  south  coast  (August  1) 
near  Ponce  (pon'tha),  and  was  pushing  across  the  island  when 
hostilities  came  to  an  end. 

Peace.  —  Meanwhile,  the  French  minister  in  Washington 
asked,  on  behalf  of  Spain,  on  what  terms  peace  would  be  made. 
President  McKinley  stated  them,  and  on  August  12  an  agree- 
ment, or  protocol,  was  signed.  This  provided  (1)  that  hostili-  ^ 
ties  should  cease  at  once,  (2)  that  Spain  should  withdraw 
from  Cuba  and  cede  Porto  Rico  and  an  island  in  the  Ladrones    "^ 


1  Among  those  who  distinguished  themselves  in  this  campaign  were  General 
Joseph  Wheeler,  an  ex-Confederate  cavalry  leader  ;  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  with  his  regiment  of  volunteers  called  "  Rough  Riders." 


424  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

to  tlie  United  States,  and  (3)  that  the  city  and  harbor  of  Manila 
should  be  held  by  us  till  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  and  the 
fate  of  the  Philippines  settled.^ 

The  treaty  was  signed  at  Paris,  December  10,  1898,  and 
went  into  force  upon  its  ratification  four  months  later.  Spain 
agreed  to  withdraw  from  Cuba,  and  to  cede  us  Porto  Rico, 
Guam  (one  of  the  Ladrone  Islands),  and  the  Philippines.  Our 
government  agreed  to  pay  Spain  $20,000,000. 

Hawaii,  meanwhile,  had  steadily  been  seeking  annexation 
to  the  United  States.  Many  causes  prevented  it ;  but  during 
the  war  with  Spain  the  possibility  of  our  holding  the  Philip- 
pines gave  importance  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  in  July, 
1898,  they  were  annexed.  In  1900  they  were  formed  into 
the  territory  of  Hawaii.  About  the  same  time  several  other 
small  Pacific  islands  were  acquired  by  our  country. ^ 

Porto  Rico  and  Cuba.  —  For  Porto  Rico,  Congress  provided 
a  system  of  civil  government  which  went  into  effect  May  1, 
1900,  and  made  the  island  a  dependency,  or  colony  —  a  district 
governed  according  to  special  laws  of  Congress,  but  not  form- 
ing part  of  our  country. ^ 

When  Spain  withdrew  from  Cuba,  our  government  took 
control,  and  after  introducing  many  sanitary  reforms,  turned 
the  cities  over  to  the  Cubans.  The  people  then  elected 
delegates  to  a  convention  which  formed   a   constitution,  and 

1  The  city  of  Manila  was  captured  through  a  combined  attack  by  Dewey's 
fleet  and  Merritt's  army,  August  13,  before  news  of  the  protocol  had  been 
received. 

2  Our  flag  was  raised  over  Wake  Island  early  in  1899.  Part  of  the  Samoa 
group,  including  Tutuila  (too-too-e'la)  and  small  adjacent  islands,  was  acquired 
in  1900  by  a  joint  treaty  with  Great  Britain  and  Germany;  these  islands  are  77 
square  miles  in  area  and  have  6000  population.  Many  tiny  islands  in  the  Pacific, 
most  of  them  rocks  or  coral  reefs,  belong  to  us ;  but  they  are  of  little  impor- 
tance, except  the  Midway  Islands,  which  are  occupied  by  a  party  of  telegraphers 
in  charge  of  a  relay  in  the  cable  joining  our  continent  with  the  Philippines. 

3  Porto  Rico  is  a  little  smaller  than  Connecticut,  but  has  a  population  of 
about  one  million,  of  whom  a  third  are  colored.  The  civil  government  consists 
of  a  governor,  an  executive  council  of  11  members,  and  a  House  of  Delegates 
of  35  members  elected  by  the  people.  The  island  is  represented  at  Washington 
by  a  resident  commissioner. 


435 


426 


ECONOMIC  DEVELOPxMENT 


v/ 


when  this  had  been  adopted  and  a  president  elected,  our  troops 
were  withdrawn,  and  (May  20,  1902)  the  Cubans  began  to 
govern  their  island. 

War  in  the  Philippines.  —  When  our  forces  entered  Manila 
(August,  1898),  native  troops  under  Aguinaldo(ahg-ee-nahl'do), 
who  had  revolted  against  Spanish  rule,  held  Luzon  ^  and  most 
of  the  other  islands.     Aguinaldo  now  demanded  that  we  should 


A  Philippine  market. 

turn  the  islands  over  to  his  party,  and  when  this  was  refused, 
attacked  our  forces  in  Manila.  War  followed  ;  but  in  battle 
after  battle  the  native  troops  were  beaten  and  scattered,  and  in 

1  The  Philippine  group  numbers  about  two  thousand  islands.  The  land  area 
is  about  equal  to  that  of  New  England  and  New  York  ;  that  is,  115,000  square 
miles.  Luzon,  the  largest,  is  about  the  size  of  Kentucky.  A  census  taken  in 
1903  gave  a  population  of  7,000,000,  of  whom  600,000  were  savages.  For  several 
years  the  Philippines  were  governed  by  the  President,  first  through  the  army, 
and  then  through  an  appointed  commission.  This  commission,  with  Judge 
William  H.  Taft  as  president,  began  its  duties  in  June  of  1900  ;  but  by  act 
of  Congress  (July  1,  1902)  a  new  plan  of  government  has  been  provided  for. 
This  includes  a  governor  and  a  legislature  of  two  branches,  one  the  Philippine 
commission  of  eight  members,  and  the  other  an  assembly  chosen  by  the  Filipinos. 


RECENT  EVENTS 


427 


time  Aguinaldo  was  captured.  The  group  of  islands  is  now 
governed  as  a  dependency. 

War  in  China.  —  The    next    country   with    which    we    had 
trouble  was  China.     Early  in  1900  members  of  a  Chinese  soci- 
ety called  the  Boxers  began  to  kill  Christian  natives,  mission- 
aries, and  other  foreigners.    The  disorder  soon  reached  Peking, 
where  foreign  ministers,  many  Europeans,  and  Americans  were 
besieged  in  the  part  of  the  city  where  they  were  allowed  to 
reside.     Ships  and  troops  were  at  once  sent  to  join  the  forces  of 
Japan  and  the  powers  of  Europe  in  rescuing  the  foreigners  in 
Peking.     War  was  not  declared  ;  but  some  battles  were  fought 
and  some  towns  cap- 
tured before  Peking 
was  taken  and  China 
brought  to  reason. 1 

The  Census  of 
1900. — At  liome  in 
1900  our  population 
was  counted  for  the 
twelfth  time  in  our 
history  and  found  to 

be  76,000,000.      This  Settled  area  in  1900. 

census  did  not  include  the  population  of  Porto  Rico,  Guam, 
or  the  Philippines.  In  New  York  the  population  exceeded 
that  of  the  whole  United  States  in  1810 ;  in  Pennsylvania  it 
was  greater  than  that  of  the  whole  United  States  in  1800, 
and  Ohio  and  Illinois  each  had  more  people  than  the  whole 
country  in  1790. 

1  In  1898  the  emperor  of  Russia  invited  many  of  the  nations  of  the  world  to 
meet  and  discuss  the  reduction  of  their  armies  and  navies.  Delegates  from  twenty- 
six  nations  accordingly  met  at  the  Hague  (in  Holland)  in  May,  1899,  and  there  . 
discussed  (1)  disarmament,  (2)  revision  of  the  laws  of  land  and  naval  war,  (3)  I/* 
mediation  and  arbitration.  Three  covenants  or  agreements  were  made  and  left 
open  for  signature  by  the  nations  till  1900.  One  forbade  the  use  in  war  of  deadly 
gases,  of  projectiles  dropped  from  balloons,  and  of  bullets  made  to  expand  in  the 
human  body.  The  second  revised  the  laws  of  war,  and  the  third  provided  for 
a  permanent  court  of  arbitration  at  the  Hague,  before  which  cases  may  be 
brought  with  the  consent  of  the  nations  concerned. 


[■.■....■■.iDofs  indicate  regions  settled 
1^^^^^  between  1880  and  1900 


428  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

Immigration.  —  In  1879  (p.  403)  a  great  wave  of  immi- 
gration began  and  rose  rapidly  till  nearly  800,000  foreigners 
came  in  one  year,  in  1882.  Then  the  wave  declined,  but  for 
the  rest  of  the  century  every  year  brought  several  hundred 
thousand.  In  1900  another  great  wave  was  rising,  and  by 
1905  more  than  1,000,000  immigrants  were  coming  every  year. 
For  some  years  these  immigrants  have  come  mostly  from  south- 
ern and  eastern  Europe. 

Growth  of  Cities.  —  Most  remarkable  has  been  the  rapid 
growth  of  our  cities.  In  1790  there  were  but  6  cities  of  over 
8000  inhabitants  each  in  the  United  States,  and  their  total 
population  was  but  131,000.  In  1900  there  were  545  such  cities, 
and  their  inhabitants  numbered  25,000,000  —  about  a  third  of 
the  entire  population ;  38  of  tliese  cities  had  each  more  than 
100,000  inhabitants.  By  1906  our  largest  city,  New  York,  had 
more  than  4,000,000  people,  Chicago  had  passed  the  2,000,000 
mark,  and  Philadelphia  had  about  1,500,000. 

The  New  South. — The  census  of  •  1900  brought  out  other 
facts  of  great  interest.  For  many  years  after  1860  the  South 
had  gone  backward  rather  than  forward.  From  1880  to  1900 
her  progress  was  wonderful.  In  1880  she  was  loaded  with 
debt,  her  manufactures  of  little  importance,  her  railways  di- 
lapidated, her  banks  few  in  number,  and  her  laboring  population 
largely  unemployed.  In  1900  her  cotton  mills  rivaled  those 
of  New  England..  Since  1880  her  cotton  crop  has  doubled, 
her  natural  resources  have  begun  to  be  developed,  and  coal, 
iron,  lumber,  cottonseed  oil,  and  (in  Texas  and  Louisiana) 
petroleum  have  become  important  products.  Alabama  ranks 
high  in  the  list  of  coal-producing  states,  and  her  city  of  Bir- 
mingham has  become  a  great  center  of  the  iron  and  steel 
industry.  Atlanta  and  many  other  Southern  cities  are  now 
important  manufacturing  centers. 

With  material  prosperity  came  ability  to  improve  the  sys- 
tems of  public  schools.  Throughout  the  South  separate  schools 
are  maintained  for  white  and  for  negro  children;  and  great 
progress  has  been  made  in  both. 


RECENT  EVENTS 


429 


The  Election  of  1900.  —  One  of  the  signs  of  great  prosperity 
in  our  country  has  always  been  the  number  of  political  parties.  • 
In  the  campaign  for  the  election  of  President  and  Vice  Presi- 


dent in  1900  there  were  eleven  parties,  large  and  small, 
the  contest  really  was  be- 
tween the  Republicans,  who 
nominated  William  Mc- 
^  Kmley  and  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, and  the  Democrats, 
who  nominated  William  J. 
Bryan  and  Adlai  E.  Steven- 
son, indorsed  by  the  Popu- 
list and  Silver  parties. 

McKinley  Assassinated. 
—  McKinley  and  Roosevelt 
were  elected,  and  duly  in- 
augurated March  4,  1901. 
In  that  year  a  great  Pan- 
American  Exposition  was 
held  at  Buffalo,  and  while 
attending  it  in  September, 
McKinley  was  shot  by  an 
anarchist  who,  during  a  pub- 
lic reception,  approached 
him  as  if  to  shake  hands. 


But 


Cupyright,  190i,  hy  Pack  Bros.,  N.T. 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 


Early  on  the  morning  of  Septem- 
ber 14  the  President  died,  and  Vice-President  Roosevelt  ^  suc- 
ceeded to  the  presidency. 

1  Theodore  Eoosevelt  was  born  in  New  York  in  1858,  graduated  from  Har- 
vard University  in  1880,  and  from  1882  to  1884  was  a  member  of  the  legislature 
of  New  York,  In  1886  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for  mayor 
of  New  York  city  and  was  defeated.  In  1889  he  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission,  but  resigned  in  1895  to  become 
president  of  the  New  York  city  police  board.  In  1897  he  was  appointed  As- 
sistant Secretary  of  the  Navy,  but  when  the  war  with  Spain  opened,  resigned 
and  organized  the  First  United  States  Cavalry  Volunteers,  popularly  known 
as  Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders,  Of  this  regiment  he  was  lieutenant  colonel 
and  then  colonel,  and  after  it  was  mustered  out  of  service,  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  New  York  in  the  autumn  of  1898.  He  is  the  author  of  many  books  on 
history,  biography,  and  hunting,  besides  essays  and  magazine  articles. 


430  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

The  Chinese.  —  In  President  Roosevelt's  first  message  to 
Congress  (December,  1901)  he  dealt  with  many  current  issues. 
One  of  his  requests  was  for  further  legislation  concerning 
J  Chinese  laborers.  The  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  accordingly  was 
(1902)  applied  to  our  island  possessions,  and  no  Chinese  laborer 
is  now  allowed  to  enter  one  of  them,  nor  may  those  already 
there  go  from  one  group  to  another,  or  come  to  any  of  our 
states. 

Irrigation.  —  Another  matter  urged  on  the  attention  of 
Congress  by  the  President  was  the  irrigation^  of  arid  public 
lands  in  the  West  in  order  that  they  might  be  made  fit  for 
settlement.  Great  reservoirs  for  the  storage  of  water  should 
be  built,  and  canals  to  lead  the  water  to  the  arid  lands  should 
be  constructed  at  government  expense,  the  land  so  reclaimed 
should  be  kept  for  actual  settlers,  and  the  cost  repaid  by  the 
sale  of  the  land.  Congress  in  1902  approved  the  plan,  and  by 
law  set  aside  the  money  derived  from  the  sale  of  public  land  in 
thirteen  states  and  three  territories  as  a  fund  for  building  irri- 
gation works.  The  work  of  reclamation  was  begun  the  next 
V  year,  and  by  1907  eight  new  towns  with  some  10,000  people 
existed  on  lands  thus  watered. 

Isthmian  Canal  Routes.  —  The  project  of  a  canal  across  the 
isthmus  connecting  North  and  South  America,  was  more  than 
seventy-five  years  old.  But  no  serious  attempt  was  made  to 
cut  a  water  way  till  a  French  company  was  organized  in  1878, 
spent  $260,000,000  in  ten  years,  and  then  failed.  Another 
French  company  then  took  up  the  work,  and  in  turn  laid  it 
down  for  want  of  funds.  So  the  matter  stood  when  the  war  with 
Spain  brought  home  to  us  the  great  importance  of  an  isthmian 
canal.  Then  the  question  arose.  Which  was  the  better  of  two 
routes,  that  by  Lake  Nicaragua,  or  that  across  the  isthmus  of 
Panama?  2      Congress  (1899)  sent  a  commission  to  consider 

1  Before  this  time  many  small  areas  had  been  irrigated  by  means  of  works 
constructed  by  individuals,  by  companies,  and  by  local  governments. 

2  In  1825  Central  America  invited  us  to  build  a  canal  by  way  of  Lake  Nica- 
ragua, and  from  that  time  forth  the  question  was  often  before  Congress.  In 
Jackson's  time  a  commissioner  was  sent  to  examine  the  Nicaragua  route  and 


RECENT  EVENTS 


431 


this,  and  it  reported  that  both  routes  were  feasible.  Thereupon 
the  French  company  offered  to  sell  its  rights  and  the  unfinished 
canal  for  140,000,000,  and  Congress  (1902)  authorized  the  Presi- 
dent to  buy  the  rights  and  property  of  the  French  company, 
and  finish  the  Panama  Canal;  or,  if  Colombia  would  not  grant  us 
control  of  the  necessary 
strip  of  land,  to  build  one 


by  the  Nicaragua  route. 

The  Panama  Canal 
Treaty.  —  In  the  spring 
\/of  1903,  accordingly,  a 
treaty  was  negotiated 
with  Colombia  for  the 
construction  of  the  Pan- 
ama Canal.  Our  Senate 
ratified,  but  Colombia  re- 
jected, the  treaty,  where- 
upon the  province  of 
Panama  (November, 
1903)  seceded  from  Co- 
lombia and  became  an 
independent  republic. 


y/m^^'  \-^v^-^ 


PANAMA'"^ 
CANAL  ZONE 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


lU 


#^C^'^ocE^^ 


xc 


Our    government  promptly  recognized   the    new  republic,  ^ 
and  a  treaty  with  it  was  ratified  (February,  1904)  by  which  we 


that  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama.  After  Texas  was  annexed  we  made  a  treaty 
with  New  Granada  (now  Colombia),  and  secured  "the  right  of  way  or  transit 
across  the  isthmus  of  Panama  upon  any  modes  of  communication  that  now  exist, 
or  that  may  be  hereafter  constructed."  After  the  Mexican  war,  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California,  and  the  expansion  of  our  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast,  the 
importance  of  a  canal  was  greatly  increased.  But  Great  Britain  stepped  in  and 
practically  seized  control  of  the  Nicaragua  route.  A  crisis  followed,  and  in  1850  , 
we  made  with  Great  Britain  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty,  by  which  each  party 
was  pledged  never  to  obtain  "  exclusive  control  over  the  said  ship  canal."  When 
(in  1900)  we  practically  decided  to  build  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  and  felt  we 
must  have  exclusive  control,  it  became  necessary  to  abrogate  this  part  of  the 
Clayton-Bulwer  treaty.  The  Hay-Pauncefote  treaty  was  therefore  made,  by 
which  Great  Britain  gave  up  all  claim  to  a  share  in  the  control  of  such  a  canal, 
and  the  United  States  guaranteed  that  any  isthmian  canal  built  by  us  should  be 
open  to  all  nations  on  equal  terms. 


432  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

secured  the  right  to  dig  the  canal.  The  property  of  the  French 
company  was  then  purchased,  and  a  commission  appointed  to 
superintend  the  work  of  construction. ^ 

The  Alaskan  Boundary.  • —  By  our  treaty  of  purchase  of 
Alaska,  its  boundaries  depended  on  an  old  treaty  between  Russia 
and  Great  Britain.  When  gold  was  discovered  in  Canada  in 
1871,  a  dispute  arose  over  the  boundary,  and  it  became  serious 
when  gold  was  discovered  in  the  Klondike  region  in  1896. 
Our  claim  placed  the  boundary  of  southeastern  Alaska  thirty- 
five  miles  inland  and  parallel  to  the  coast.  Canada  put  it  so 
much  farther  west  as  to  give  her  several  important  ports.  The 
matter  was  finally  submitted  to  arbitration,  and  in  1903  the 
decision  divided  the  land  in  dispute,  but  gave  us  all  the  ports. ^ 

Presidential  Election  of  1904.  —  The  campaign  of  1904  was 
opened  by  the  nomination  by  the  Republican  party  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt  and  Charles  W.  Fairbanks.  The  Democrats  presented 
Alton  B.  Parker  and  Henry  G.  Davis,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  summer  seven  other  parties  —  the  People's,  the  Socialist, 
the  Socialist  Labor,  the  Prohibition,  the  United  Christian,  the 
National  Liberty,  and  the  Continental  —  nominated  candi- 
dates.    Roosevelt  and  Fairbanks  were  elected. ^ 

Oklahoma. — Among  the  demands  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  1901  was  that  for  the  admission  of   Oklahoma  and  Indian 

1  In  accordance  with  our  rights  under  the  treaty,  Congress  (April,  1904) 
authorized  the  President,  as  soon  as  he  had  acquired  the  property  of  the  canal 
company  and  paid  Panama  $10,000,000,  to  take  possession  of  the  "Canal 
Zone,"  a  strip  ten  miles  wide  (five  miles  on  each  side  of  the  canal)  stretching 
across  the  isthmus  and  extending  three  marine  miles  from  low  water  out  into 
the  ocean  at  each  end.  On  April  22,  1904,  the  property  of  the  canal  com- 
pany was  transferred  at  Paris,  and  on  May  9  the  company  was  paid  $40,000,000  ; 
Panama  had  already  been  paid  her  $10,000,000,  and  on  May  19  General  Davis, 
president  of  the  Canal  Commission,  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the  be- 
ginning of  his  administration  as  governor  of  the  Canal  Zone. 

2  Another  event  of  1903  was  the  addition  of  a  ninth  member  to  the  Cabinet, — 
the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor.  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  (1889)  was 
the  eighth  member. 

8  By  336  electoral  votes  against  140  for  Parker  and  Davis.  The  popular 
vote  was  :  Republican,  7,623,486  ;  Democratic,  5,077,971  ;  Socialist,  402,283 ; 
Prohibition,  258,536  ;  Populist,  117,183  ;  Socialist  Labor,  31,249  ;  all  others 
combined,  less  than  10,000. 


RECENT  EVENTS  433 

Territory  as  one  state,  and  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  as 
separate  states.  In  1906  Congress  authorized  the  people  of 
Oklahoma^  and  Indian  Territory  to  frame  a  constitution,  and  if 
it  were  adopted  by  vote  of  the  people,  the  President  was  em- 
powered to  proclaim  the  state  of  Oklahoma  a  member  of  the 
Union,  which  was  done  in  1907.  The  same  act  authorized  the 
people  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  to  vote  separately  on  the 
question  whether  the  two  should  form  one  state  to  be  called 
Arizona.  At  the  election  (in  November,  1906)  a  majority  of 
the  people  of  New  Mexico  voted  for,  and  a  majority  of  the 
people  of  Arizona  against,  joint  statehood,  so  the  two  remained 
separate  territories. 

Pure  Food  and  Meat  Inspection  Laws.  — At  the  same  session 
of  Congress  (1906)  two  other  wise  and  greatly  needed  laws 
were  enacted.  For  years  past  the  adulteration  of  food,  drugs, 
medicines,  and  liquors  had  been  carried  on  to  an  extent  dis- 
graceful to  our  country.  The  Pure  Food  Act,  as  it  is  called,!/ 
was  passed  to  prevent  the  manufacture  of  "  adulterated  or  mis- 
branded  or  poisonous  or  deleterious  foods,  drugs,  medicines,  and 
liquors  "  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the  territories,  or  the 
transportation  of  such  articles  from  one  state  to  another.  Foods 
and  drugs  entering  into  interstate  commerce  must  be  correctly 
labeled. 

The  meat  inspection  act  requires  that  all  meat  and  food 
products  intended  for  sale  or  transportation  as  articles  of  inter- 
state or  foreign  commerce,  shall  be  inspected  by  officials  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  marked  "  inspected  and  passed." 
All  slaughtering,  packing,  and  canning  establishments  must  be 
inspected  and  their  products  duly  labeled. 

Intervention  in  Cuba.  —  As  the  year  1906  drew  to  a  close,  we 
were  once  more  called  on  to  intervene  in  affairs  in  Cuba.  The 
elections  of  1905  in  that  island  had  been  followed  by  the  revolt 

1  The  central  portion  of  Indian  Territory  was  opened  for  settlement  on  April 
22,  1889,  when  a  great  rush  was  made  for  the  new  lands.  Other  areas  were  soon 
added,  and  in  1890  Oklahoma  territory  was  organized.  It  included  the  western 
half  of  the  Indian  Territory  shown  on  p.  394. 

McM.    BRIEF  —  26 


434  ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT 

of  the  defeated  party,  and  the  appearance  of  armed  bands  which 
threatened  the  chief  towns  and  even  Havana.  An  attempt  to 
bring  about  an  understanding  with  the  rebels  was  repudiated 
by  President  Palma,  who  declared  martial  law  and  called  a 
meeting  of  the  Cuban  congress,  which  body  gave  him  supreme 
power. 

President  Roosevelt,  under  our  treaty  with  Cuba,  was  bound 
to  maintain  in  that  island  a  government  able  to  protect  life  and 
property.  Secretary-of-War  Taft  was  therefore  sent  to  Havana 
to  examine  into  affairs,  and  while  he  was  so  engaged  President 
Palraa  resigned,  and  the  Cuban  congress  did  not  elect  a  suc- 
cessor. Secretary  Taft  then  assumed  the  governorship  of  the 
island  and  held  it  till  October,  when  Charles  Magoon  was  ap- 
pointed temporary  governor.  ^ 

Panic  of  1907.  — The  wonderful  prosperity  which  our  country 
had  enjoyed  for  some  years  past  came  to  a  sudden  end  in  the 
fall  of  1907.  Distrust  of  certain  banks  led  to  a  run  on  several 
in  New  York  city.  When  they  were  forced  to  stop  paying  out 
money,  a  panic  started  and  spread  over  the  country,  business 
suffered,  and  hard  times  came  again. 

The  Election  of  1908.  —  During  the  summer  of  1908  seven 
parties  nominated  candidates  for  President  and  Vice  President. 
They  were  the  Republican,  Democratic,  Prohibition,  Populist, 
Socialist,  Socialist  Labor,  and  Independence.  The  Republicans 
nominated  William  H.  Taft  and  James  S.  Sherman;  and  the 
Democrats,  William  J.  Bryan  and  John  W.  Kern.  Taft  ^  and 
Sherman  were  elected. 

1  Another  event  of  1906  was  a  great  earthquake  in  western  California  (April 
18).  Many  buildings  in  many  places  were  shaken  down,  and  most  of  San 
Francisco  was  destroyed  by  fires  which  could  not  be  put  out  because  the  water 
mains  were  broken  by  the  earthquake.  Hundreds  of  persons  lost  their  lives, 
and  the  property  loss  in  San  Francisco  alone  was  estimated  at  $400,000,000. 

2  William  Howard  Taft  was  born  in  Ohio,  September  15,  1857,  graduated 
from  Yale,  studied  law,  became  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Ohio,  and  United 
States  Circuit  Judge  (6th  Circuit).  After  the  war  with  Spain,  Judge  Taft  was 
made  president  of  the  Philippine  Commission,  and  in  1901  first  civil  governor  of 
the  Philippine  Islands.  In  1904  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  an  office 
which  he  resigned  after  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 


RECENT  EVENTS 


435 


Early  in  1909  Taft  visited 
the  Canal  Zone,  with  eminent 
engineer^  to  investigate  the 
condition  of  the  half-finished 
Panama  Canal.  He  was  in- 
augurated President  on  March 
4.  In  the  selection  of  his 
cabinet  officers,  and  in  his 
public  addresses,  he  showed  a 
determination  to  avoid  sec- 
tionalism and  narrow  ])ar- 
tisanship.  One  of  his  first 
acts  as  President  was  to  con- 
vene Congress  in  special  ses- 
sion beginning  March  15,  for 
the  purpose  of  framing  a  new 
tariff  act. 


Copt/rijjlt,  f90S,  hy  Pack  Bros.,  N,   Y. 

William  H.  Taft. 


SUMMARY 

1.  Our  foreign  relations  since  1898  have  been  most  important.  In  1898 
there  was  a  short  war  with  Spain. 

2.  The  chief  events  of  the  war  were  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay,  the  sink- 
ing of  the  Merrimac,  the  battles  near  Santiago,  the  destruction  of  Cervera's 
fleet,  the  invasion  of  Porto  Rico,  and  the  capture  of  Manila. 

3.  Peace  brought  us  the  Philippines,  Porto  Rico,  and  Guam,  and  forced 
Spain  to  withdraw  from  Cuba. 

4.  Cuba  for  awhile  remained  under  our  flag;  but  in  1902  we  withdrew, 
and  Cuba  became  a  republic.     Later  events  forced  us  to  intervene  in  1906. 

5.  In  1900  events  forced  us  into  a  short  war  in  China. 

6.  In  1898  Hawaii  was  annexed,  and  in  1900  was  organized  as  a  terri- 
tory ;  in  1903  our  dispute  with  Great  Britain  over  the  Alaskan  boundary 
was  settled ;  and  in  1904  a  treaty  with  Panama  gave  us  the  right  to  dig  the 
Panama  Canal. 

7.  Prominent  among  domestic  affairs  since  1898,  are  the  assassination 
of  President  McKinley  (1901);  the  Irrigation  Act  of  1902;  the  pure  food 
and  meat  inspection  laws  of  1906 ;  and  the  admission  of  the  state  of 
Oklahoma. 


APPENDIX 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE  — 1776 


In  Congress,  July  4,  1776. 
the  unanimous  declaration  of  the  thirteen  united  states  of  america 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to 
dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind 
requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident:  that  all  men  are  created  equal;  that  they 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments 
are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of  these  ends, 
it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government, 
laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form, 
as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence, 
indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long  established,  should  not  be  changed  for 
light  and  transient  causes;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown,  that  man- 
kind are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufFerable,  than  to  right  themselves 
by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But,  when  a  long  train  of 
abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design 
to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw 
off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  —  Such 
has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies;  and  such  is  now  the  necessity 
which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The  history 
of  the  present  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations, 
all  having  in  direct  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  States. 
To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the 
public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing  importance, 
unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained ;  and,  when  so 
suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large  districts  of 
people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the 
legislature,  a  right  inestimable  to  them  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable,  and 
distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing 
them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

i 


THE  DECLARATION   OF  INDEPENDENCE 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  opposing,  with  manly 
firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others"  to  be 
elected ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned 
to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise ;  the  State  remaining,  in  the  meantime, 
exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States;  for  that  purpose 
obstructing  the  laws  for  naturalization  of  foreigners;  refusing  to  pass  others  to 
encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations 
of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for 
establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices, 
and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officers 
to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without  the  consent 
of  our  legislature. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the  civil 
power. 

He  has  combined,  with  others,  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our  con- 
stitution, and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of 
pretended  legislation : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us : 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders  which 
they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States: 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world : 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent: 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury: 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offenses: 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province,  estab- 
lishing therein  an  arbitrary  government  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to 
render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute 
rule  into  these  colonies : 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  altering, 
fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  governments: 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested  with 
power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection,  and 
waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our  towns,  and  destroyed 
the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  complete 
the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circumstances  of 
cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally 
unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to  bear 
arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren, 
or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has  endeavored  to  bring 
on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known 
rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  condi- 
tions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the  most 
humble  terms :  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury. 

ii 


THE  DECLARATION   OF  INDEPENDENCE 

A  prince,  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a  tyrant, 
is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attention  to  our  British  brethren.  We  have  warned 
them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable 
jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigra- 
tion and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  j  ustice  and  magnanimity, 
and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these 
usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence. 
They  too  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  consanguinity.  We  must,  there- 
fore, acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them,  as 
we  h'old  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  general 
Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude 
of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these 
colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare.  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance 
to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of 
Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved ;  and  that,  as  free  and  independ- 
ent States,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances, 
establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  States 
may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on 
the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our 
fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor.  John  Hancock. 


New  Hampshire 

Josiah  Bartlett, 
Wm.  Whipple, 
Matthew  Thornton. 

Massachusetts  Bay 

Saml.  Adams, 
John  Adams, 
Robt.  Treat  Paine, 
Elbridge  Gerry. 

Rhode  Island 

Step.  Hopkins, 
William  Ellery. 

Connecticut 

Roger  Sherman, 
Sam'el  Huntington, 
Wm.  Williams, 
Oliver  Wolcott. 

New  York 

Wm.  Floyd, 
Phil.  Livingston, 
Frans.  Lewis, 
Lewis  Morris. 


New  Jersey 

Richd.  Stockton, 
Jno.  Witherspoon, 
Fras.  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart, 
Abra.  Clark. 

Pennsylvania 

Robt.  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush, 
Benja.  Franklin, 
John  Morton, 
Geo.  Clymer, 
Jas.  Smith, 
Geo.  Taylor, 
James  Wilson, 
Geo.  Ross. 

Delavmre 

Csesar  Rodney, 
Geo.  Read, 
Tho.  M'Kean. 

Maryland 

Samuel  Chase, 
Wm.  Paca, 
Thos.  Stone, 


Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll- 
ton. 

Virginia 

George  Wythe, 
Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Th  Jefferson, 
Benja.  Harrison, 
Thos.  Nelson,  jr., 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
Carter  Braxton. 

North  Carolina 

Wm.  Hooper, 
Joseph  Hewes, 
John  Penn. 

South  Carolina 

Edward  Rutledge, 
Thos.  Hey  ward,  Junr., 
Thomas  Lynch,  Junr., 
Arthur  Middleton. 

Georgia 

Button  Gwinnett, 
Lyman  Hall, 
Geo.  Walton. 


iii 


CONSTITUTIOK   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  — 1787  ^ 


We  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  urfion, 
establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and 
our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

''  ARTICLE  I 

Section  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  2.  1  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  aind  the  electors  in 
each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous 
branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

2  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  num- 
bers, which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons, 
including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  persons.^    The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made 

.within  three  yeftrs  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law 
direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thou- 
sand, but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  representative;  and  until  such  enumera- 
tion shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three, 
Massachusetts  eight.  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five, 
New  York  six.  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six, 
Virginia  ten.  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State,  the  executive 
authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker  and  other  officers, 
and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  3.  1  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  Senators 
from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof  for  six  years ;  and  each  senator 
shall  have  one  vote. 

2  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first  election, 
they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  sen- 
ators of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the 
second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the 
expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year; 
and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legis- 
lature of  any  State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until 
the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty 
years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,"'^ileh 
elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen, 

iThis  reprint  of  the  Constitution  exactly  follows  the  text  of  that  in  the  Department  of  State  at 
Washington,  save  in  the  spelling  of  a  few  words. 

'  The  last  half  of  this  sentence  was  superseded  by  the  13th  and  14th  Amendments.  (See  p.  xii 
following.) 

iv 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES 

4  The  Vice,£cfisidettt-^  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  the  Senate, 
but  Shalt  have'no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  president  pro  tempore, 
in  the  absence  of  the  Vice  President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President 

of  the  United  States.  /^V^ 

6  The3£iiaj£_shall  have  the  sole  power  to  tryj^Um^geacl^^  When  sitting  for       ^ 
that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or   affirmation.     vVTien  the  President  of    the 
United  States  is  tried,  the  chief  justice  shall  preside:  and  no  person  shall  be  con- 
victed without  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  removal 
from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust  or 
profit  under  the  United  States:  but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable 
and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  4.  1  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  senators 
and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legislature  thereof ;  but 
the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the 
places  of  choosing  senators. 

2  The_  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  i^t_Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  dif- 
ferent day.  '    "  ^ 

Section  5.    1    Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns  and  qualifi-  '  ' 
cations  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do 
business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  author- 
ized to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such 
penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  members 
for  disorderly  behaviour,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a  member. 

3  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time  pub- 
lish the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy;  and 
the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the 
desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in 
which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6.  1  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation 
for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States.  They  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony  and  breach  of  the 
peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was  elected, 
be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall 
have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such 
time ;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member 
of  either  House  during  his  continuance  in  office.  / 

Section  7.   1   All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  Jhe  Honse  of  Repre-   r"^"^ 
sentatives;  but  the15enateniay  propose  or  concur  withaffiehdments  as  on  other  bills. 

2  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate, 
shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;   if  ^ 
he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections  to  that        }^ 
House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on       ^ 
their  journal,   and   proceed    to    reconsider  it.    If  after  such   reconsideration   two_  M  \  ^ 
thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the^'^y 
objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if    ^^i^*^ 
approved  by  ,two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  law.     But  in  all  such  cases   ^ 
the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the 
persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House 
respectively.     If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days 
(Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a 

law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment 
prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

3  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  and 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment) 
shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  before  the  same  shall 
take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  re- 
passed by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the 
rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  8.   1  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  layL-and_collect  taxes^,  duties, 
^     imposts  and  excises,   to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  .iojc  -the  -coaunoii -xiefi^se   and 
i     general  welfare  of  the'tJiiited^  States";  but  airduties,_im£psts  and  excises  shall  be 
l     uniformthroughout  the  United  States; 
\         2    To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

\         3    To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  States, 

\   and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

4  To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalizatiflu,  and  uniform  laws  on  the  sub- 
ject of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  Uniled^tates ; 

5  To  coinmoney,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the 
standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

6  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current 
coin  of  the  United  States ; 

7  To  establish  post  offices  and  post  roads ; 

8  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  by  securing  for  limited 
times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries ; 

9    To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

10  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas,  and 
offenses  against  the  law  of  nations ; 

11  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules  con- 
cern ingcapttrresTJn  Ij^nd  and  water ; 

12  To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

13  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

14  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces; 

15  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  railjtia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union, 
suppress  insurrections  and  repel  inva^sions ; 

16  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and 
the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Con- 
gress ; 

17  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such  district 
(not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, i 
and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings;  and 

C"  18  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  ha  npnpgggry  anrl  prgp*'^  for  carrying  into  execu- 
tion the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  Qi_  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

1^  Section  9.   1  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States 
/iiow  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress 
prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be 
/    imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 2 

2  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  coitus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  l)ostj[acto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4  No  capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the 
census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

— 5    No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

6  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  to 
the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another :  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from, 
one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

*The  District  of  Columbia,  which  comes  under  these  regulations,  had  not  then  been  erected. 
*  A  temporary  clause,  no  longer  in  force.    See  also  Article  V,  p.  ix. 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

7  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence  of  appropria- 
tions made  by  law;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expen- 
ditures of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

8  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States:  and  no  person 
holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  otfice,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever, 

from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State.  / .,,, ,  '  ;  uf.,^-^ 

Section  10. i  1  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation;  ''  \-*--^' 
grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any-  'V. 
thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  fl^^iXK 
attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  oliTigalion  of  contracts,  or  grant  ^jv^  <• 
any'title  of  nobility.  "  ^ 

2  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on 
imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  in- 
spection laws:  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts  laid  by  any  State 
on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States; 
and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

3  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of  tonnage, 
keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact 
with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually 
invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


ARTICLE  II 


-tut^ 


Section  1.    1  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  United      W.  J 
States  of  America.     He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of    four  years,  and,^},^bl 
together  with  the  Vice  President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  electe(r,~a§'follows. 

2  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  thereof  may  direct, 
a  number  of  electors,  ec[ual  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representatives 
to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress:' but  no  senator  or  represeiitative, 
or  person  holding  an  ofiice  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed an  elector. 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  two 
persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with 
themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the 
number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed 
to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  president  of  the 
Senate.  The  president  of  the  Senate,  shall,  in  the  presence  oj^  the  SeualFarrd  House 
of  Kepresentatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  voteis  shall  then  be  counted. 
The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  there  be 
more  than  one  who^ave  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for 
President;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list 
the  said  house  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  '"But  in  choosing  the 
President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Jifipresentation  from  eachJijtate 
having~oTie  vote ;  a  quojcum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  mem¥ers 
from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to 
a  choice.  In  every  case,~atter  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  l)e  the  Vice  President.  But  if  there 
should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them 
by  ballot  the  Vice  President.-^ 

.3  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and  the  day  on 
which  they  shall  give  their  votes  ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United 
States. 

4  No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  at 
the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Pres- 
ident; neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirti^fijia  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the 
United  States.  • 

5  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  resignation, 

1  See  also  the  10th,  13th,  14th,  and  15th  Amendments,  pp.  xii,  xiii. 

2  This  paragraph  superseded  by  the  12th  Amendment,  p.  xii. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall 
devolve  on  the  Vice  President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case 
of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice 
President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall 
act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

G  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compensation, 
which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other 
emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

7  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following  oath 
or  affirmation :  —  "  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve, 
protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Section  2.  1  The  President  shall  be  commander  inLchifilQlthe..ajyny  and  navy  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the 
actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the 
principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and 
pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to 
make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  senator's  present  concur;  and  he  shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not'  herein  otherwise 
provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law:  but  the  Congress  may  by  law 
vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President 
alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  happen  during 
the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
their  next  session. 

Section  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both 
Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them  with  respect 
to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think 
proper;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers;  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of 
the  United  States. 

Section  4.  The  President,  Vice  President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason, 
bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  HI 

Section  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  SBJueme 
JCaurt,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain 
and  establish.  The 'judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold 
their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services, 
a  compensation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  2.  1  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity, 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made, 
or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority ;  —  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors, 
other  public  ministers  and  consuls; — to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  juris- 
diction ;  —  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party ;  —  to  con- 
troversies between  two  or  more  States ; — between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another 
State;!  —  between  citizens  of  different  States,  —  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens 
thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens  or  subjects. 

2  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  and 
those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  ^Supreme  Court  shall  have  origjaal  juris- 
diction.   In  all  the  other  cases  before  nientioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 

*  See  the  11th  Amendment,  p.  xii. 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such 
regul^oiiV^s 'tEeXongress  shall  make. 

3  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury ;  and 
such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place 
or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  3.    1    Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist  only  in  levying    • 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort. 
No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses 
to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  iu  open  court. 

2  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason,  but  no 
attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  except  during  the 
life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV 

Section  1-    Fnl]  fnith  aij^  credit  shall  he .P-iven  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts,  / 
records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.     And  the  Congress  ma^  By  (^ 
general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records  and  proceedings  V 
shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof.  •""^ 

Section  2.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  im- 
munities of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

2  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who  shall 
flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall  on  demand  of  the  executive 
authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  to  be  removed  to  the 
State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof,] 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  thei-ein,  be 
discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the__ 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.i 

Section  3.    1  New  StaJ"fl»'-mav  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union  i-^'TljJcc 
but  no  new  State  ^iiail  he  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  ^j___. 
State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  "^r^-^Lt 
States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of 
the  Congress. 

2  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and 
regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States; 
and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of 
the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion ; 
and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  oTTJfthe  executive  (when  the  legislature  can- 
not be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V  ^^ 

JEhe  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem  it  necessary , .slialli         Jl< 
propose  amendments  totliis"  Constitiition,  or,"  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures    ^Q^ 
of_two  thirds  of  the  several   States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amend-    l\ 
meiils,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  arid  purposes,  as  part  of  this     ^ 
Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three  fourths  of  the  several  States, 
or  by  conventions  iiiTliree' fourths  thereof,  as  tlie  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratifica- 
tion may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress ;  Provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be 
made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner 
affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that 
no  State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 


ARTICLE  VI 

1  Alljifibts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the  adoption  of  this 
Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitution, 
as  under  the  Confederation. 

1  See  the  18th  Amendment,  p.  xil. 

ix 


^ 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


2  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made  in 
pursuance  thereof ;  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  §h all  be J]j,e .siipg-fi tua Ja w...iil Jii4»4fnltr ;  and  the  judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereByTanything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  members  of  the 
several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  ofticers,  both  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support 
this  Constitution ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualificatiou  to 

"^ah'y  oflSceDT-public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


ARTICLE  VII 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  estab- 

lisnment  oi  ihis  uonstitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  present  the  seventeenth 
day  of  September  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  twelfth.  In 
witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

Go :  Washington  — 

Presidt.  and  Deputy  from  Virginia 


New  Hampshire 

John  Langdon 
Nicholas  Gilman 

Massachusetts 

Nathaniel  Gorham 
Rufus  King 

Connecticut 

Wm.  Saml.  Johnson 
Roger  Sherman 

New  York 
Alexander  Hamilton 

New  Jersey 

"Wil:  Livingston 
David  Brearley 
Wm.  Paterson 
Jona:  Dayton 

Pennsylvania 

B.  Franklin 
Thomas  Mifflin 
Robt.  Morris 
Geo.  Clymer 
Thos.  Fitzsimons 
Jared  Ingersoll 
James  Wilson 
Gouv  Morris 


Attest 


Delaimre 

Geo :  Read 

Gunning  Bedford  Jun 
John  Dickinson 
Richard  Bassett 
Jaco:  Broom 

Maryland 

James  McHenry 

Dan  of  St.  Thos  Jenifer 

Danl.  Carroll 

Virginia 

John  Blair  — 
James  Madison  Jr. 

North  Carolina 

Wm.  Blount 

Richd.  Dobbs  Spaight 

Hu  Williamson 

South  Carolina 

J.  Rutledge, 

Charles  Cotes  worth  Pinckney 

Charles  Pinckney 

Pierce  Butler 

Georgia 

William  Few 
Abr  Baldwin 

William  Jackson  Secretary. 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Articles  in  addition  to,  and  amendment  of,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  proposed  by  Congress,  and  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
States  pursuant  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  original  Constitution. 

ARTICLE  II 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibit- 
ing the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ; 
or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  "to  petition  the  government  for 
a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II 

A  well  regulated  militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  State,  the  right 
of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house,  without  the  consent 
of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects, 
against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants 
shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  par- 
ticularly describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime, 
unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the 
land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or 
public  danger ;  nor  sliall  any  person  be  subject  lor  the  same  offense  to  be  twice  put 
in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a 
witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  com- 
pensation. 

ARTICLE  VI 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enioy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and 
public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law, 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  witli 
the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in 
his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE  VII 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dol- 
lars, the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact. tried  by  a  jury  shall 
be  otherwise  reexamined  in  any  court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and 
unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  construed  to 
deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

iThe  first  ten  Amendments  were  adopted  in  1791. 

zi 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


ARTICLE  X 

'\       The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by   the  Constitution,   nor  pro- 
^hibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI 1 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any 
suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by 
citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII 2 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  iuhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President  and  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they 
shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  directed  to  the  president  of  the  Senate ;  —  The  president  of  the  Sen- 
ate shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted;  — The  person  having  the  great- 
est number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  such 
majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the 
votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote ; 
a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of 
choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following, 
then  the  Vice  President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other 
constitutional  disability  of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  as  Vice  President  shall  be  the  Vice  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice  President; 
a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  sena- 
tors, and  a  hiajority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no 
person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE   XIII 3 

Section  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment 
for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the 
United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Section  2.    Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 


legislation. 


ARTICLE  XIV  4 


Section  1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privi- 
leges or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive 
any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  deny  to 
any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

1  Adopted  in  1798.  »  Adopted  in  1804,  »  Adopted  in  1865.  *  Adopted  in  1868. 

xii 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in 
each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  elec- 
tion for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States, 
representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the 
members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such 
State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion,  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of 
representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of 
age  in  such  State. 

Section  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Congress,  or 
elector  of  President  and  Vice  President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State 
legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may  by 
a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  disability. 

Section  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  authorized  by 
law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services 
in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the 
United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred 
in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the 
loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations  and  claims  shall 
be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate  legisla- 
tion, the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XVI 

Section  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied 
or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  pre- 
vious condition  of  servitude. 

Section  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 
legislation. 

1  Adopted  in  1870, 


MCM.    RRIEF 2<  xiii 


TABLE   OF   STATES 


li    « 

^    (B         0) 


C  C  S 


o  ^ 


l.S'd^ 


)•«  to 


to 

",2  « 
'"a 


t  =?£^;s 


"5  '?      ^       k!  5  H       ^^  5  *-  /i* 

t>    ;2i    !z;3!2h    3    52;    tS    Iz; 


»0  CJ        »H  o 


ss  s 


«0  00        ■*        -^  C)  (D 

iH  00      00      oii-ixa 
wo      th      00  oc  m 


^  ss 


(MOJOO 


»OM5<N 
-*  <M«0 

OOO  rH 


i   s; 


»«  p  w      o 
oTt^oo      cf 


I  i 


2     i2 


I 

"Sb- 


QH 


.a 

5-2 


a   -SI 


>»      R  O 


>H         O         ^r. 


ill 


HOT  Nil 

aex  oiNi 

HOISSIKQV 

JO  a  tva 


II 

III 

•* 
1 

II 

1 

0  «o«o 

l-H 

rH 

iH 

i 

i 

i 

S5£ 

S5 

III 

1 

II 

1 

t- t-J  t- 

05 

1 

r-t 

X  Soo 

tH  l-H  I-l 

00 

00 

00 

5 

i 

1 

o 


-^         W         HH      . 

^     a    '^'S 


5     ^ 


i«la-^ 

<-  tn  O  c3  ft 


a^a 


3  -  a  2 

o  es  5  a 


O     .  o  ^  a  r 


_  o  o 


•o    -S      ■  : 

o  ^     • 

s   ^    >^ 

g      "^     9-2 

..  a   „^j   «  o «™ 

a  ^  a  =4  a  a  a 
.2  2.1  £.S  °.l 
-5  c5  'S  o  '3  "^  'o 


^  o    ^ 
a  fcH  a 

'S5'3 
a     a 


a 


a     r:      = 


c4 
to  i-J 


:^  ^^ 


ci3 

•I  ^11     I 


a     -5  a- 


S    R    -s!    ;^   S 


TABLE  OF  STATES 


9    -HH^ 


•rem 

»3    s?i    &, 


hI 


s  -  -^ 
cf  « (2  "S  g, 


g      H 


a        00  <u 


i5  o 


^^  s 


^  eS  2  fc-  c8 


O   4<   ^ 

«^  a  « 


S  c  cs  cQ 


93    cj 


ill 


'A   r 


H    r 


t2      «^  if  c  s  .2    . 
tB-a  •=  i>  «  x  'S 


(MOCO  CI 

1ft  t- 00  o_ 

oo"flo"'H  oT 

M(N  cT 


g 


xT     oou 


'OQ  O  O  >0 

I  00  30  O  l-l  (M 

I  O  c-  t-  »ft  OS 

'cT-^'cT  t^so 

lOO  ff^rH  t^O 


CO  <N  1-t 

o  t~  CO 

1-H^  t>.  lO_ 

00  rH  (N 


§  s 


sg 


a     fi 


ft    = 


C  S  fl 


„®    5    .S  .2 

C       <»        3  5  B 


I? 


>  «     -J      ft 
s  a     S     H 


a  a 

ceo 


IH  •^  .*  O         t~  OS 

T-i  ift  o  la      .*  ift 
00  00  t-oo      00  00 


00      00      00  00 


00  00 


«o      t-      »o»o ! 
00      00      00  00  < 


et  '  a!  CO 

■-3     d     v.^  S 


:  S.2 


si 


!S^     . 
r  oS2 

M   H*^    CD 

c  :§  S  c 

OS  73  o  e8 


CO      - 
c  00 


I^S 

^.-•S 


O)    OQ  <4-( 

eC    -    .    - 

^    ^    ^ 


H 


-25 

O    =9 


<      S 


o  X  fe  i2 

S^5      ^ 


s 


o      o 


-So 


:s2 


§    5! 


XV 


TABLE  OF   THE  PRESIDENTS 


a> 


P  o  JJ 


o  o 


S  bcte  fe  ^  S 


(^^     <i4^H 


\^^A    ^^;:i^^t 


;2i 


o  o  5h  S  2  opqi 


_.„ gl 


•S^  S  M 
M  o  cs  a 


£2  2  o  £?  ^-^  .2  rH  - : 


ll|o|g  i 


2:    ^'^ 


o2, 


^^ 


D  ,Q     ,Q     ^  <jj 
O  D     <u     a>  O 


2  be  tc  9  fcc  fcD  9  2 


ft  ft 

P3  p^ 


.2  =^.-  =«  .2 


ft  ft  ft  C  O,  S      ft 
O)    D    0^    OJ    0^    U       OJ 

p^pSp^ppiP  f4 


i-. 


iH      (M  ( 

CX3      00  ( 


<M  C5  CO 

■5  OOog  00 

Js  I-l           I              J^  J     "-I  J. 

00  tL    o      'S  Trim  S! 

t--  55      00         CO  00  -M  00 

>-<  t~     tH         i-H  i-H  X  iH 

..sT-1       ..,         .„  .^'-'  .^ 

OQ    •«>      OQ           97  I/I    .vs  03 

ag  s    a  aa  a 

O  <u     O        p  O  <u  O 

HO    H      H  HO  H 


7  .i 


^  -is 


oo'^^ooisgoooo 
i-t  ..psrH'-l   3  „'-ii-' 


a-S'sa-a'^aa 

3  3   >>a   >i>.3   3 

OOeoO  ,H  (nOO 


S    S 


'S  a 


a  ;:  ^ 

th     ec    H 


r-l    S,"00COt-<     "      OS 

^Sj3§8g"  a  >. 

OO^'IrHQO-;  ^ 

E^aaa^  i  I 


100     lO     <M  tH  <M  C5  O  ■*  Oi 

100      00      00  00  OO  00  00  <X>  00  00      GO 


lo    in    in    eOTH^OD^i 

00     O  00  00  o  o  I 
00     00  00  00  o>  CS>  ' 


.t-    t^        t-     t-  C-     t-     t-t-b-t-t-OOOOt-     00     00     00     cooooooooooo 


a  a    a 
"ScS  "So 


ia'3 

^  i>  S  5i  £•> 
c3  to  --  o  C  -ri 


>.a  t>     t*  ;>S   H   ;ziOt>Ht^l2i!ziAH 


O  O  08  o 

St 


.£    a  .S  -2.2  ^  ^t 

fi  H  G  ooizi!^;^;^;  c  ^  o 


^a    S 
0>-»   H 


fl     ■'5    3 

'2     C  «     OS 

'^  ^3  ^ 

CO       WJ^^       0) 

a  a2  -2 

eS     03  O 


^.^^ 


^  Oh  cSCSpj  o 


4J 


•s^  i 

ia  g 


Q2|<«!|W|    3    ^ 


-CO 

imp 

-ti  c  a>  o  3  o 

-^     -  -  i-  IJ  !-. 


t 

2  a 

o    :§ 


^    g^^«tgSfc;^    :<    <!    t5    P^^OOCQO    ^    H 


^ 


■*    lO  to    t- 


S;  2  SSSS^SS  S  S  S 


INDEX 


Abenaki  Indians,  124. 

Abolitionists,  294,  828. 

Acadia,  settled,  115,  124  ;  taken  by  English,  127. 

Acadians,  removal  of,  137. 

Adams,  Alvin,  309. 

Adams,  John,  sketch,  231  ;  Vice  President,  208; 
President,  231-234  ;  death,  234. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  2&4  ;  President,  283-286. 

Adams,  Samuel,  158,  165. 

Agricultural  Wheel,  415. 

Aguinaldo,  Emilio,  426. 

Alabama,  settled,  269  ;  admitted  as  a  state,  271 ; 
secedes,  351 ;  readmitted,  387. 

Alabama,  cruiser,  378,  391 ;  claims,  391. 

Alamo,  317. 

Alaska,  purchased,  390 ;  boundary,  276,  432. 

Albany,  founded,  72,  77. 

Albany  Convention  of  1754,  135. 

Albemarle,  ironclad,  379. 

Algiers,  treaty  with,  229,  249. 

Algonquin  Indians,  103,  111,  112. 

Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  232, 

AUatoona,  battle,  372. 

Allen,  Ethan,  160. 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution,  I-X,  222  ;  XI, 
226;  XII,  246;    XIII,  386;    XIV,   XV,  389. 

America,  named,  21,  22. 

American  party,  336. 

Amherst,  Gen.  Jeflfery,  140. 

Amusements,  colonial,  99  ;  of  pioneers,  271. 

Anaesthesia,  347. 

Anderson,  Maj.  Eobert,  356. 

Andr6,  Maj.  John,  187,  188. 

Andros,  Edmund,  92,  93. 

Annapolis,  Md.,  Convention,  205;  Naval  Acad- 
emy at,  341. 

Annapolis,  N.S.,  127,  128. 

Anne,  Queen,  126. 

Anti-Contract-Labor  Law,  413. 

Antietam,  battle,  364. 

Anti-Federalists,  207,  225. 

Antimasons,  292. 

Anti-rent  war,  312. 

Antislavery  movement,  293  ;  party,  298. 

Anti-Trust  Act,  414. 

Apaches,  400. 

Appomattox  Court  House,  Lee  at,  374. 

Arbitration,  391,  427. 

Arizona  territory,  395,  433. 

Argall,  Gov.  Samuel,  44. 

Arkansas,  territory,  274 ;  admitted,  300 ;  secedes, 
856 :  readmitted.  887. 


Armada,  Spanish,  37,  38. 

Army,  Continental,  161,  171,  192;  in  Civil  "War, 
357,  367. 

Army  of  the  Potomac,  358,  366,  872. 

Arnold,  Gen.  Benedict,  162,  163,  173,  174;  trea- 
son, 187,  188;  British  commander,  191. 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  President,  410. 

Articles  of  Confederation,  197,  208-205. 

Ashley',  W.  H.,  318. 

Assembly,  colonial,  90. 

Assumption  of  state  debts,  228,  226. 

Astoria,  fort  at,  276,  264. 

Astrolabe,  11. 

Atchison,  383,  398. 

Atlanta,  in  Civil  War,  372,  384. 

Atlantic  cable,  848,  402. 

Australian  ballot,  416. 

Backwoodsmen,  182,  188, 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  rebellion,  94,  95,  109. 

Balboa,  Vasco  Nufiez  de,  explorer,  22. 

Baltimore,  growth,  95,  212  ;  in  War  of  1812,  258. 

Baltimore,  Lords,  49-52,  80,  81,  93. 

Bancroft,  George,  author,  342. 

Bank  of  the  United  States,  224,  265 ;  second,  265, 

292,  293;  proposed  third,  816. 
Banks,  after    1789,    237;    after    1811,  265;    pet 

banks,  293  ;  national  banks,  382. 
Banks,  Gen.  Nathaniel  P.,  361,  362,  363. 
Barre,  Colonel,  in  Parliament,  149. 
Barron,  Com.  James,  251. 
Barry,  Capt.  John,  178,  233. 
Battle  above  the  Clouds,  870. 
Bayard,  James  A.,  at  Ghent,  261. 
Bean,  William,  pioneer,  181. 
Bear  flag,  320. 

Beauregard,  Gen.  Pierre  G.  T.,  357. 
Bedford,  frontier  town,  143,  144. 
Bell,  Alexander  Graham,  inventor,  401. 
Bell,  John,  presidential  candidate,  838. 
Belmont,  battle,  860. 
Bemis  Heights,  battle,  174. 
Bennington,  battle,  173,  174. 
Benton,  Senator  Thomas  H.,  293,  802. 
Berkeley,  Gov.  Sir  William,  48,  49,  94. 
Berkeley,  Lord,  N.  J.  proprietor,  78. 
Jierlin  Decree,  250. 

Bienville,  Jean  Baptiste  le  Moyne  de,  121. 
Bill  of  rights.  Amendments  I-X,  222. 
Bills  of  credit,  204,  205,  210-212,  223  ;  first,  126. 
Biloxi,  founded,  121. 
Bimetollic  standard,  224. 


INDEX 


Birney,  James  G.,  294,  298,  319. 

Black  Hawk  War,  302. 

Blaine,  James  G.,  candidate,  412. 

Bland-Allison  Act,  409. 

Block,  Adrien,  explorer,  71. 

Blockade  running,  in  Civil  War,  376, 

Bloomer,  Mrs.,  reformer,  812. 

Boise,  Fort,  395. 

Bond  servants,  45. 

Bonds,  U.  S.,  381,  887. 

Bonhomme  Richard,  179. 

Boone,  Daniel,  pioneer,  182. 

Boston,  founded,  59;  growth,  96,  212;  in  the 
Revolution,  154-156,  158-164;  fire  (1872),  405. 

Boundaries  of  the  U.S.,  in  1788,  196;  northeast- 
ern, 297,  316;  northwestern,  276,  819,  892; 
Texas,  318,  319. 

Bouquet,  Col.  Henry,  146. 

Boxers,  in  China,  427. 

Braddock,  Gen.  Edward,  188,  139. 

Braddock's  Road,  144. 

Bradford,  William,  Pilgrim,  55. 

Bradford,  William,  printer,  98. 

Bragg,  Gen.  Braxton,  360,  369,  371. 

Brandywine,  battle,  174-176. 

Brazil,  discovered,  21. 

Breckinridge,  John  C,  candidate,  338. 

Brethren  of  the  Coast,  84. 

Brewster,  William,  Pilgrim,  55. 

Bridges  (1790),  238  ;  (1810),  266  ;  (1880),  401. 

Brooklyn,  in  the  Revolution,  169. 

Brown,  Gen.  Jacob,  257. 

Brown,  John,  338. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  candidate,  418,  429,  484. 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  841,  185. 

Buchanan,  James,  President,  836,  343,  349,  355. 

Buckner,  Gen.  Simon  B.,  359. 

Buell,  Gen.  Don  Carlos,  360. 

Buena  Vista,  battle,  321. 

Buffalo,  growth,  804  ;  exposition,  429. 

Buffaloes,  275,  844,  400. 

Bull  Run,  battles,  357,  863. 

Bunker  Hill,  battle,  161. 

Burgoyne,  Gen.  John,  172-174. 

Burke,  Edmund,  in  Parliament,  153. 

Burnside,  Gen.  Ambrose  E.,  864,  366. 

Burr,  Aaron,  231,  234,  246,  247. 

Business  methods,  97,  214,  218. 

Butler,  Gen.  Benjamin  F.,  861. 

Butler,  Col.  John,  183. 

Cabeza  de  Vaca,  explorer,  2T. 

Cabinet,  222,  411,  432. 

Cable,  telegraph,  345,  348,  402. 

Cabot,  John  and  Sebastian,  19. 

Cabral,  Pedro  Alvarez,  discoverer,  21,  11. 

Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  explorer,  28. 

Calhoun,  John  Caldwell,  sketch,  284;  nullifica- 
tion doctrine,  290,  291. 

California,  acquired  by  U.S.,  320,  822;  gold  in, 
325,  842  ;  admitted,  826,  827  ;  Chinese  in,  404, 
409. 


Calverts,  in  Maryland,  49,  50. 

Cambridge,  founded,  59.  , 

Camden,  battle,  186. 

Canada,  settled,  115-117,  124 ;  wars  with,  (1689- 
1760)  124-127,  136-142,  (1775)  163,  (1812)  256; 
ceded  to  Great  Britain,  141,  142  ;  province  of 
Quebec,  143,  157  ;  Patriot  War  in,  297. 

Canals,  (1800)  237,  (1820-40)  803-306,  308;  Erie, 
278,  803,  804;  Panama,  431. 

Canal  Zone,  481,  432. 

Canby,  Gen.  Edward  R.  S.,  401. 

Canoes,  106,  221. 

Cahonicus,  61. 

Caravel,  11. 

Carolina,  82,  83. 

Caroline,  Fort,  83. 

Caroline,  steamer,  297,  816. 

Carpetbag  government,  889,  408. 

Carson,  Kit,  844. 

Carteret,  Sir  George,  78. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  explorer,  29,  30. 

Cass,  Lewis,  candidate,  324. 

Caswell,  Col.  Richard,  164. 

Catholic  missionaries,  116. 

Caucus  of  members  of  Congress,  283. 

Cavaliers,  49. 

Cedar  Creek,  battle,  373. 

Cedar  Mountain,  battle,  363. 

Celoron,  French  commander,  129,  130. 

Census,  see  PopulaUon. 

Cerro  Gordo,  battle,  322. 

Cervera,  Admiral,  422. 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  114,  115. 

Chancellorsville,  battle,  866. 

Chapultepec,  battle,  822. 

Charles  I  of  England,  48,  49,  58. 

Charles  II  of  England,  49,  68,  77,  82,  92. 

Charleston,  growth,  82,  84,  99,  212  ;  in  the  Revo- 
lution, 156,  165,  185,  191,  192;  in  Civil  War, 
856,  874,  377,  379  ;  earthquake,  412. 

Charlestown,  founded,  59  ;  burned  (1775),  162. 

Charter  colonies,  87. 

Charter  Oak,  98. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  833. 

Chase,  Samuel,  Revolutionary  leader,  165. 

Chattanooga,  battle,  369. 

Cherokee  Indians,  103,  112,  302. 

Cherry  Valley,  massacre,  188. 

Chesapeake,  frigate,  251,  261. 

Cheyennes,  401. 

Chicago,  growth  of,  304,  402,  428 ;  fire  (1871), 
405  ;  World's  Fair,  13. 

Chickamauga,  battle,  369. 

Chickasaw  Indians,  103. 

Chile,  recognized,  281 ;  trouble  with  (1891),  418. 

China,  trade  with,  (1450)  9-11,  (1844)  349 ;  war 
in  (1900),  427. 

Chinese  immigration,  404,  409,  410,  480. 

Chippewa,  battle,  257. 

Christina,  Queen,  73. 

Churubusco,  battle,  822. 

Cibola,  cities  of,  27. 


INDEX 


Cincinnati,  founded,  202  ;  bridge,  401. 

Cities,  growth  of,  95,  96,  (1790)  212,  (1820-40)  810, 
(1860)  841,  (1900)  42S. 

Civil  service  reform,  410. 

Civil  War,  causes,  311,  888-888,  851-356  ;  on  land, 
855-374 ;  on  sea,  876-381 ;  cost,  881-383 ;  re- 
sults, 865,  381-387. 

Claiborne,  William,  in  Maryland,  51. 

Claiborne,  William  C.  C,  244. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  183. 

Clark,  William,  explorer,  244,  276. 

Clay,  Henry,  early  life,  253;  signs  treaty  of 
Ghent,  261  ;  presidential  candidate  (1824),  283, 
284;  Secretary  of  State  (1825),  284;  candidate 
(1832),  292  ;  Compromise  of  1883,  291  ;  public 
lands,  302  ;  national  bank,  293,  816  ;  candidate 
(1844),  819  ;  Compromise  of  1850,  826. 

Clayton-Bulwer  treaty,  431. 

Clermont,  steamboat,  268. 

Cleveland,  founded,  240. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  412-416,  420. 

Cliflf  dwellings,  101,  102. 

Clinton,  DeWltt,  255,  278. 

Clinton,  George,  246. 

Clinton,  Gen.  Sir  Henry,  164,  165,  169,  176,  185- 
187, 191. 

Coal,  810,  842,  428. 

Coffeehouses,  217. 

Cold  Harbor,  battle,  872. 

Coligny,  Admiral,  82. 

Colleges,  (1760)  98,  (1789)  216,  (1820)  266,  (1860) 
841 ;  land  grants  for,  301,  898. 

Colombia,  recognized,  281 ;  and  Panama  Canal, 
431. 

Colorado,  territory,  893 ;  admitted,  407. 

Columbia,  District  of,  see  District. 

Columbia,  S.C.,  taken  by  Sherman,  874. 

Columbia  River,  discovered,  276. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  9,  11-18. 

Commerce  of  the  colonies,  (Va.)  46,  47,  (Md.) 
58,  (New  Eng.)  fr4,  (N.Y.)  72,  76,  (N.C.)  83, 
(S.C.)  84 ;  of  all  colonies,  88,  99,  100,  147,  148. 

Commerce  of  the  U.S.,  under  Confederation, 
208,  204 ;  about  17S9,  219,  220,  237 ;  in  1793, 
228 ;  in  1803-1812,  249-258,  265 ;  in  Civil  War, 
876-878. 

Committees  of  correspondence,  155. 

Common  Sense,  pamphlet,  165. 

Commonwealth,  English,  49. 

Compass,  11,  14. 

Compromises,  in  the  Constitution,  206 ;  of  1820, 
274,  338,  836  ;  of  1838,  291  ;  of  1850,  826. 

Concord,  battle,  160.        * 

Confederate  cruisers,  377,  378,  891. 

Confederate  States,  formed,  851,  356;  recogni- 
tion of,  377  ;  fall  of,  374 ;  status  after  1865,  385. 

Confederation,  197,  203,  204. 

Congress,  Stamp  Act,  151;  First  Continental, 
157 ;  Second  Continental,  161,  165, 166, 197,  211, 
(under  Confederation)  197,  203-205,  207,  208 ; 
under  the  Constitution,  206. 

Con{fre8a,  war  ship,  880. 


Connecticut,    colony,    73,    62-68,    87-92;    loses 
charter,  92,  93 ;  Indian  war  in,  110,  111  ;  in  the 
Revolution,   186,   191 ;    Western   land  claims, 
194,  197,  198,  202  ;  see  Constituidons. 
Connecticut  Reserve,  198,  240. 
Constantinople,  trade  of,  9,  10. 
Constitution,  frigate,  259,  260,  261. 
Constitutional  Union  party,  338. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  framed,  205- 
207;    ratified,   207,    210;    text,  iv    (appendix) 
amendments,  I-X,  222;  XI,  226;   XII,  246; 
XIII,  386;  XIV,  386,  889  ;  XV,  889. 

Constitutions  of  the  states,  165,  210,  245.  See 
Franchise. 

Continental  Army,  161,  171,  192. 

Continental  Congress,  see  Congress. 

Continental  paper  money,  211,  228. 

Contreras,  battle,  822. 

Conway  Cabal,  175. 

Cook,  Capt.  James,  discoverer,  24. 

Cooper,  James  F.,  novelist,  341 ;  works  referred 
to,  189,  160,  179,  186,  271,  312. 

Cooper,  Peter,  candidate,  408. 

Corinth,  in  Civil  War,  360. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  172,  185-191. 

Coronado,  Francisco  Vasquez  de,  28. 

Corporations,  rise  of,  402,  411. 

Corse,  Gen.  John  M.,  872. 

Cortes,  Hernando,  23. 

Cotton,  239,  273,  311,  428. 

Cotton  gin,  238. 

Council,  colonial,  89,  90. 

Council  for  New  England,  57. 

County  government,  91. 

Coureurs  de  hois,  117. 

Courts  of  the  United  States,  first  organized,  222. 

Cowpens,  battie  of,  189. 

Crater,  battle  of  the,  872. 

Crawford,  William  IL,  candidate,  283. 

Creek  Indians,  103,  112,  302 ;  war  of  1812-14,  255. 

Cr5vecoeur,  Fort,  120. 

Crown  Point,  127,  136,  137,  140. 

Cuba,  discovered,  16 ;  taken  by  British  (1762), 
141  ;  U.S.  attempts  to  acquire  (1848-58),  349  ; 
rebellion  of  1868,  392  ;  war  of  1895-98,  421-424 ; 
intervention  in  (1906),  433. 

Cumberland,  Fort,  143, 144. 

Cumberland,  war  ship,  380. 

Cumberland  Road,  308. 

Cunard  Une,  founded,  309. 

Curtis,  Gen.  Samuel  R.,  359. 

Gushing,  Caleb,  minister  to  China,  349. 

Gushing,  Commander  W.  B.,  379. 

Custer,  Lieut.  Col.  George  A.,  401. 

Cutler,  Manasseh,  201. 

Da  Gama,  Vasco,  explorer,  11. 
Dakota,  territory,  393, 899;  states,  414. 
Dale,  Gov.  Sir  Thomas,  44. 
Darien,  founded,  22. 
"Dark  horse,"  819. 
Darkness,  Sea  of,  14. 


zix 


INDEX 


Davenport,  John,  Puritan,  63. 

Davis,  Henry  G.,  candidate,  432. 

Davis,   Jefferson,   sketch,   351;    Pacific  railroad 

surveys,  345;   President  of  Confederacy,  351, 

371,  374,  876  ;  imprisoned,  405. 
Deane,  Silas,  176. 
Dearborn,  Gen.  Henry,  256. 
Debt,  imprisonment  for,  84,  311. 
Debt,  national,  211,  223;  (1835),  295;  (1837),  297; 

(1861-65),  881;  (1878),  387. 
Decatur,  Stephen,  249,  261. 
Declaration  of  Independence,  166,  148,   154,   162, 

163;  text,  i  (appendix). 
Decrees,  French  (1806-7),  250. 
Deerfield,  attack  on,  126. 
De  Grasse,  Admiral,  191. 
DeKalb,  Johann,  Baron,  174,  186. 
Delaware,  colony,  73,  81,  87-92;  in  Civil  War, 

356.     See  Constitutions. 
Delaware,  Lord,  43,  44. 
De  Leon,  Juan  Ponce,  explorer,  25. 
Demarcation,  Line  of,  18. 
Democratic  party,  284,  292,  (1860)  338,  414,   417. 

See  also  It epuMi can  party  (old). 
Demonetization  of  silver,  409. 
De  Monts,  114,  115. 
Denver,  founded,  393  ;  trade,  397,  398. 
Departments,  executive,  222,  411,  432. 
Deseret,  state  of,  343. 
Desert,  American,  275. 
De  Soto,  Hernando,  explorer,  28. 
D'Estaing,  Count,  177,  188,  185. 
Detroit,  founded,  126;  in  1763, 145, 146 ;  described 
'  by  Wayne  (1796),  240 ;  in  War  of  1812,  256,  257  ; 

in  Civil  War,  873. 
Dewey,  Com.  George,  422,  424. 
Dias,  Bartolomeu,  explorer,  11. 
Dickinson,  John,  217,  166. 
Dieskau,  Baron,  137. 
Dingley  Tariff  Act,  418. 
Dinwiddle,  Gov.  Eobert,  130,  131. 
Directory,  French,  231. 
District  of  Columbia,  223  ;  slave  trade  abolished, 

326,  828  ;  slavery  abolished,  364. 
Dollar,  212,  224. 
Donelson,  Fort,  captured,  359. 
Dongan,  Gov.  Thomas,  77. 
Dorchester,  settled,  59. 

Dorchester  Heights,  seized  by  Washington,  164. 
Dorr,  Thomas  W.,  in  K.I.,  312. 
Douglas,  Sen.  Stephen  A.,  333,  337,  338. 
Draft  Act,  867. 

Drake,  Francis,  explorer,  84-87. 
Drake,  Josei>h  Eodman,  poet,  842. 
Draper,  Dr.  John  W.,  photography,  347. 
Dred  Scott  decision,  836,  337. 
Dress,  colonial,  96. 
Duane,  William,  293. 
Dunmore,  Lord,  162. 
Duquesne,  Fort,  132,  187-140. 
Durham,  attack  on,  126. 
Dutch  in  America,  70-77,  111,  112,  124. 


Eads,  James  B.,  401. 

Early,  Gen.  Jubal  A.,  378. 

East,  European  trade  with,  9-11. 

East  India  Company,  155. 

Edmunds  Act,  410. 

Education,  before  1776,  (Va.)  47,  (Mass.)  66, 
(N.Y.)  78,  (N.O.)  88,  (all  colonies)  98 ;  in  1789, 
215-217;  land  grants  in  aid  of,  301,  898;  in 
1860,  341 ;  in  the  South  (1880-1900),  428. 

El  Caney,  battle,  423. 

Electoral  Commission,  407. 

Electric  devices,  345,  401. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  34-37,  55. 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  364. 

Embargo,  of  1794,  229  ;    long  (1807-9),  252,  266. 

Emerson,  Ealph  Waldo,  341,  160. 

Endicott,  John,  58,  62. 

England,  explorations,  19,  84-88 ;  war  with  Spain 
(1588),  37;  condition  in  1606,  39;  colonies, 
35-08,  77-100,  109-118,  123-166;  Civil  War  in, 
48,  49;  treaty  with  Spain  (1670),  85;  Kevolu- 
tion  of  1689,  98  ;  wars  with  France,  128-142  ; 
union  with  Scotland,  127.  See  also  Great 
Brita  in. 

English,  William  H.,  candidate,  410.  , 

Enterprise,  brig,  283,  260. 

Enumerated  goods,  88. 

Era  of  Good  Feeling,  280. 

Ericsson,  John,  880. 

Ericsson,  Leif,  15. 

Erie,  Fort,  captured,  257. 

Erie  Canal,  273,  303,  804. 

Erskine  agreement,  253. 

Essex,  frigate,  261. 

Eutaw  Springs,  battle,  190. 

Evans,  Oliver,  268. 

Excise  tax,  224,  381. 

Express,  809,  348,  403 ;  Pony  Express,  396. 

Expunging  question,  293. 

Fairbanks,  Charles  W.,  Vice  President,  482. 

Fair  Oaks,  battle,  868. 

Farmers'  Alliance,  415. 

Farragut,  Admiral  David  G.,  861,  379. 

Federalist,  The,  207. 

Federalist  party,  225,  228,  282,  244,  262,  280. 

Ferguson,  Col.  Patrick,  188. 

Ferryboats,  268. 

Field,  Cyrus  W.,  848,  402. 

Fifteenth  Amendment,  389. 

Filibusters,  349,  392. 

Filipinos,  426. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  324,  ^28,  836. 

Firemen,  213,  841.  n 

Fisher,  Fort,  captured,'  379. 

Fisheries,  treaties,   (1818)  264,  (1871)  391;   seal 

fisheries,  419. 
Fishers  Hill,  battle,  373. 
Fiske,  John,  works  referred  to,  16,  56,  112,  154, 

196. 
Fitch,  John,  inventor,  239,  268. 
Five  Nations,  103,  112  ;  see  Iroquois. 


INDEX 


Flag  of  the  United  States,  172,  228. 

Flatboat,  200,  273. 

Florida,  explored,  25 ;  settled,  33  ;  ceded  to  Great 
Britain  (1763),  141  ;  East  and  West,  British, 
143  ;  ceded  to  Spain  (1783),  196;  to  U.S.,  276; 
Indian  war  in,  302 ;  admitted,  826 ;  secedes, 
851 ;  readmitted,  387. 

Foote,  Flag-Officer  Andrew  H.,  868,  369. 

Forbes,  Gen.  John,  140. 

Forbes's  Road,  144. 

Force  Act  (1809),  252  ;  (1832),  290  ;  (1871),  890. 

Fort  Bois6,  Fort  Cumberland,  etc.,  see  Boise, 
Cumberland,  etc. 

Forty-niners,  325. 

Fourteenth  Amendment,  386,  389. 

Fractional  currency,  382,  406. 

France,  explorations,  29-32,  115-121  ;  colonies, 
80-33,  114-121,  124,  127,  141  ;  wars  with  Eng- 
land, 123-142;  alliance  with  U.S.,  176,  177, 
185,  191  ;  war  with  Great  Britain  (n78-8;3), 
176,  177,  185,  191,  (1793)  228,  (1803)  249,  250; 
war  with  U.S.  (179S-1S0O),  232-234;  regains 
and  sells  Louisiana,  243  ;  recognizes  Confeder- 
ate States,  377  ;  in  Mexico,  390. 

Franchise  (right  to  vote),  in  early  New  England; 
91;  in  U.S.  (1789),  210;  (1805),  245;  (1840), 
811 ;  (1870),  389  ;  (after  1890),  417. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  early  hfe,  186 ;  Plan  of 
Union,  135;  agent  in  London,  153;  member 
of  Congress,  166  ;  minister  in  France,  176,  192  ; 
in  constitutional  convention,  206 ;  writings 
of,  136,  216. 

Franklin,  state  of,  198. 

Fredericksburg,  battle,  364. 

Free  coinage,  224 ;  ended,  409 ;  agitation,  414, 
417. 

Freedmen's  Bureau,  385. 

Free-soil  party,  323,  336. 

Fremont,  John  C,  sketch,  344 :  candidate,  830 ; 
general,  361,  862. 

French  and  Indian  War,  189;  wars,  123-143; 
effects  on  colonists,  147. 

Frobisher,  Martin,  explorer,  35,  37. 

Frontenac,  Count,  124. 

Frontenac,  Fort,  124,  140. 

Fugitive  slave  law,  328,  334,  835. 

Fulton,  Robert,  268. 

Funding  Measure,  223. 

Fur  trade,  72,  117,  130,  220,  245,  315,  344. 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  Revolutionary  leader,  165. 

Gadsden  purchase,  322. 

Gage,  General,  158,  159,  161,  164. 

Gag  rule,  295. 

Gaines  Mill,  battle,  863. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  225,  261. 

Gallipolis,  settled,  202. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  President,  409. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  294. 

Gaspee,  schooner,  155. 

Gates,  Gen.  Horatio,  162,  174,  186. 

General  Court,  60,  90. 


Geneva  awards,  391. 
Genoa,  trade  of,  9,  10. 
George  II,  128,  148. 
George  III,  148,  162. 

Georgia,  colony,  85,  87-92,  128;  enlarged  (1763), 
148;  in  the  Revolution,  154,  165,  185;  Western 
land  claims,  195,  197,  198  ;  Indian  troubles,  802  ; 
secedes,   351;  in  Civil  War,  371;    readmitted, 
887.     See  Con8titutio?is. 
Germans  in  America,  75,  81-83,  85,  95,  163,  300. 
Gcrmantown,  founded,  96 ;  battle,  175, 
Gerry,  Elbridge,  165,  206,  255. 
Gerrymandering,  255. 
Gettysburg,  battle,  366. 
Ghent,  treaty  of,  261. 
Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  85. 
Gist,  Christopher,  131. 
Gold,  (in  Cal.),  325,  342;   (Alaska),  390;  (Colo.), 

898  ;  (Mont.),  395. 
Good  Hope,  Fort,  73. 
Goodyear,  Charles,  inventor,  847. 
Gorges,  Sir  Ferdinando,  60,  61. 
Gosnold,  Bartholomew,  38. 

Government,  colonial,  (all  colonies)   87-92,   (Va.) 
44,    (Md.)  50,  (N.Y.)  74,  75,  77,  (Pa.)  SO;  of 
the   U.S.,  197,  208-208,  222-224  ;  of  the  states, 
see  Coufitituiions,  Franchise,  etc. 
Governor,  colonial,  88-90. 
Graham,  Sylvester,  reformer,  812. 
Grand  Model  for  Carolina,  82. 
Grange,  415. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  sketch,  359;  in  Civil  War,   in 
West,  358-360,  368;   Virginia  campaign,   371, 
372,  374  ;   President,  888-892,  405,  406 ;   candi- 
date, 410. 
Gray,  Capt.  Robert,  276. 
Great  American  Desert,  275. 
Great  Britain,    formation    of,   127;  wars    with 
France      (1707-63),     127-143;     Revolutionary 
War,  158-196 ;  holds  forts  on  our  northern  bor- 
der, 196,  229 ;  Jay's   treaty  with   (1794),   229 ; 
wars  with  France  (1793,  1803),  228,  249,  250; 
war    with  U.S.     (1812-15),   254-262;    treaties 
with,  (1815-18)  264,  276,  (1842)  316,  (1846)819, 
(1850),  431;  favors  Confederacy,  377,  378;  treaty 
with    (1871),   391  ;   seal  fishery  question,   419; 
Venezuela   question   (1895),   420;   treaty  with 
(1901),  431. 
Great  Lakes,  navies  on,  264. 
Great  Meadows,  Washington  at,  132,  133. 
Greeley,  Horace,  405. 
Greely,  Lieut.  A.  W.,  411. 
Greenback  party,  406. 
Greenbacks,  381,  887,  406,  408. 
Greene,  Gen.  Nathanael,  162,  177, 189,  190. 
Greenland,  colonized,  15. 
Green  Mountain  Boys,  160,  174. 
Greenville,  treaty  of,  227. 
Guam,  24,  424. 
Guerri^re.  259. 
Guilford,  founded,  63. 
Guilford  Court  House,  battle,  190. 


XZl 


INDEX 


Hag'ue  tribunal,  427. 

Hail,  Columbia  I  written,  232. 

Haiti,  discovered,  16. 

Hale,  John  P.,  candidate,  324,  332. 

Hale,  Nathan,  spy,  169. 

Half-faced  camp,  269. 

Half -Moon,  70. 

Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  poet,  342. 

Halleck,  Gen.  H.  W,,  3G0, 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  223-225  ;  helps  write  Fed- 
eralist,  207  ;  death,  246. 

Hampton  Roads,  naval  battle  in,  380. 

Hancock,  John,  153,  166. 

Hancock,  Wintield  S.,  candidate,  410. 

Hard  times,  see  Panics. 

Harlem  Heights,  battle,  170. 

Harnden,  W.  F.,  309. 

Harpers  Ferry,  John  Brown  at,  338. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  President,  414,  415,  418. 

Harrison,  Wiiliam  Henry,  254,  257,  295  ;  Presi- 
dent, 298. 

Harrodsburg,  founded,  182. 

Hartford,  founded,  78,  62  ;  Convention,  262. 

Harvard  College,  66,  216. 

Havana,  captured  (1762),  141. 

Haverhill,  attack  on,  126. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  24,  419,  424. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  34,  37. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  341. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  407-409  ;  at  Cedar  Creek, 
373. 

Hayne,  Sen.  Robert  Y.,  290. 

Hay-Pauncefote  treaty,  431. 

Helena,  founded,  895. 

Hennepin,  Father,  120. 

Henry,  Fort,  captured,  358. 

Henry,  Patrick,  150,  151,  165,  183. 

Henry  "  the  Navigator,"  Prince,  10,  11. 

Herkimer,  Gen.  Nicholas,  172. 

Hessians,  163. 

Hildreth,  Richard,  author,  842. 

Hispaniola,  discovered,  16. 

Hobson,  Lieut.  Richmond  P.,  422. 

Hochelaga,  30,  114. 

Hoe,  Richard  M.,  inventor,  345. 

Holland  (Dutch)  in  America,  70-77,  111,  112,  124. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  341 ;  works  referred 
to,  162,  259. 

Holy  Alliance,  281. 

Homestead  Law,  398. 

Hood,  Gen.  John  B.,  371,  372,  374. 

Hooker,  Gen.  Joseph,  366,  369. 

Hooker,  Thomas,  62. 

Hopkins,  Esek,  naval  commander,  177. 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  author,  232. 

Hornet,  sloop,  260. 

Hour  glass,  214. 

Houston,  Gen.  Samuel,  817. 

Howe,  Admiral,  169. 

Howe,  Elias,  inventor,  846. 

Howe,  Gen.  WUliam,  161, 162, 164, 169, 170,  174, 
175. 


Hudson,  Henry,  70,  71. 

Hudson  Bay  country,  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  127. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  276. 

Huguenots  in  America,  32,  75. 

Hull,  Gen.  William,  256. 

Hunt,  Walter,  inventor,  346. 

Hutchinson,  Anne,  62. 

Iberville,  French  soldier,  121. 

Iceland,  colonized,  15. 

Idaho,  territory,  395 ;  admitted,  414. 

Illinois,   territory,   241 ;   admitted,    271 ;    builds 

railroads  and  canals,  308. 
Immigration,  (to  1840),  300;  (to  1861),  840;  (to 

1880),  403 ;   (to  1905),  428 ;  Chinese,  404,  409, 

410,  430. 
Impeachment,  388. 
Impressment,  250,  251. 
Incas,  23. 

Inclined  plane,  on  railroads,  307. 
Income  tax,  (1861),  381 ;  (1894),  416. 
Indentured  servants,  45. 
Independence,  war  for,  158-196. 
India,  European  trade  with,  9-11. 
Indiana,  territory,   241  ;  admitted,  271  ;    builds 

railroads  and  canals,  308. 
Indians,  18,  101-113;  tribes,  102;  houses,  105, 

30,  27 ;  trails,  106 ;  religion,   108  ;    early  wars 

with,  109-113,   123-127,   138,   139,    (Pontiac's) 

145,  (Ky.)  182  ;  influence  on  language,  etc.,  113  ; 

French  and,   115-117,  124,  145;  reservations, 

143,  302,  401  ;  in  the  Revolution,  172, 173,  183  ; 

later  wars,  (1790-95)  227,   (1811-14)   254-257, 

(1832-42)  302,   (1862-76)  400. 
Indian  Territory,  302,  483. 
Indies,  15. 

Industries,  (1789),  219.     See  Mannfacturea. 
Internal  improvements,  281,  303,  308. 
Internal  revenue  tax,  381. 
Interstate  Commerce  Act,  413. 
Intolerable  Acts,  156. 
Inventions,  (about  1790),  238,  239  ;  (1820-40),  309  ; 

(1840-60),   345;    (Ericsson's),  380;  (1860-80), 

401. 
Iowa,  territory,  300;  admitted,  326. 
Iroquois  Indians,  103, 111,112, 115, 124, 135,  183  n. 
Irrigation,  430. 
Irving,  Washington,  341,  16. 
Isabella,  Queen,  12,  13. 
Island  No.  10,  battle,  359. 
Isthmian  Canal,  430. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  sketch,  288;  at  New  Orleans, 
259;  candidate,  283-286;  President,  288-295, 
303,  318,  430. 

Jackson,  Dr.  Charles  T.,  347. 

Jackson,  Gen.  T.  J.  (Stonewall  Jackson),  863, 
864,  366. 

Jackson,  Fort,  361. 

Jalapa,  battle,  322. 

James  I  of  England,  38,  46,  127. 

James  II  (Duke  of  York),  77,  78,  81,  92,  98,  123. 


INDEX 


Jamestown,  Va.,  40-48. 

Japan,  treaty  with  (1854),  350. 

Jasper,  Serg.  William,  165. 

Jay,  John,  192,  207 ;  Chief  Justice,  222,  225, 
229. 

Jay's  Treaty,  229. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  sketch,  234  ;  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, 165,  166 ;  Secretary  of  State,  222 ;  Vice 
President,  231  ;  President,  235,  243,  246-252. 

Jersey  City,  settled,  73. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  sketch,  386 ;  President,  875, 
386-388,  391. 

Johnson,  Richard  M.,  295,  296. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  137,  140. 

Johnston,  Gen.  Joseph  E.,  871,  868,  874. 

Joliet,  Louis,  explorer,  119. 

Jones,  John  Paul,  177-179. 

Jumonville,  182. 

Kansas,  territory,  833,  393  ;  border  war  in,  834  ; 

admitted,  334,  398. 
Kansas  City,  industries  of  (1880),  402. 
Kansas-Nebraska  Act,  333. 
Kaskaskia,  captured  by  Americans,  183. 
Kearney,  Dennis,  409. 
Kearny,  Gen.  Stephen  W.,  320. 
Kenrsarge,  cruiser,  878. 
Kelley,  Hall  J.,  pioneer,  815. 
Kennebec,  colony  on  the,  39. 
Kennedy,  John  P.,  novehst,  342,  185. 
Kentucky,  settled,  1S2,  199,  200,  240;  threatens 

to  leave  Union,  203 ;  admitted,  223 ;   in  Civil 

War,  356,  358,  860. 
Kentucky  Resolutions,  233. 
Key,  Francis  Scott,  author,  258. 
Kieft,  Governor,  74,  112. 
King,  government  of  colonies,  87-89. 
King,  Rufus,  225,  246,  280. 
King  George's  War,  128. 
King  Philip's  War,  111,  254. 
King's  Maidens,  116. 
Kings  Mountain,  battle,  188. 
King  William's  War,  128-126. 
Kitchen  cabinet,  289. 
Knights  of  the  White  Camelia,  389. 
Know-nothing  party,  336, 338. 
Knox,  Henry,  162,  222. 
Kosciusko,  Thaddeus,  174. 
Ku-Klux-Klan,  889. 

Labor,  (1789)  218,  (1840),  811 ;  contract,  412,  418  ; 

Bureau  of,  418  ;  parties,  404. 
Ladrones,  islands,  24,  423. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  174,  177,  191. 
Lake  Erie,  battle,  257. 
Lake  George,  battle,  137. 
La  Navidad,  founded,  16. 
Land  grants,  see  Public  Lands. 
La  Rabida,  monastery  of,  13. 
La  Salle,  Robert  Cavalier  de,  119-121. 
Laudonnidre,  at  Fort  Caroline,  33. 
Lawrence,  James,  260,  261. 


Laws,  criminal,  90,  245,  811, 

Leavenworth,  388,  898. 

Le  Boeuf,  Fort,  130,  144,  146. 

Lecompton  constitution,  334. 

Lee,  Gen.  Charles,  162,  170,  176. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  166. 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  368,  866,  867,  371-874. 

Legal  tender,  211,  881. 

LeifEricsson,  explorer,  15. 

Leisler,  Jacob,  rebellion,  94. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  explorer,  244,  276. 

Lexington,  Ky.,  settled,  182. 

Lexington,  Mass.,  battle,  159,  160. 

Lexington,  cruiser,  178. 

Liberal  Republicans,  390,  405. 

Liberty,  statue  of,  412. 

Liberty  of  the  press,  98,  238. 

Liberty  party,  319,  824. 

Libraries,  98,  215,  841. 

Lighting,  213,  810. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  sketch,  337  ;  in  Congress,  322 ; 
debates  with  Douglas,  337  ;  President,  338,  355, 
356,  376;  Emancipation  Proclamation,  364 ;  at 
peace  conference,  874 ;  plan  of  reconstruction, 
885 ;  death,  875. 

Lincoln,  Gen.  Benjamin,  185. 

Literature,  215,  341. 

Livingston,  Robert,  plan  of  union,  92. 

Livingston,  Robert  R.,  166,  243,  268. 

Loan-office  certificates,  211. 

Loco-Focos,  310. 

Locomotives,  805-308. 

Log  cabin,  269. 

Log-cabin  campaign  (1840),  298. 

London  Company,  38-47,  55. 

Long,  Maj.  Stephen  H.,  275. 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  841 ;  works  referred  to, 
108,  187,  159,  380. 

Long  Island,  battle,  169. 

Lookout  Mountain,  battle,  370. 

Lords  of  Trade,  88. 

Lotteries,  216,  238. 

Louis  XIV  of  France,  120,  121,  123,  126. 

Louisburg,  128,  136,  140. 

Louisiana,  settled  by  French,  120,  121,  127  ;  ceded 
partly  to  Spain,  141,  143;  purchased  by  U.S., 
248, 244  ;  territory  of,  244  ;  state,  255  ;  secedes, 
351 ;  readmitted,  387. 

Louisville,  settled,  199,  200. 

Lovejoy,  Elijah,  reformer,  294. 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  841,  822. 

Loyal,  Fort,  attack  on,  125. 

Loyalists,  164,  196. 

Lundys  Lane,  battle,  257. 

McAllister,  Fort,  372. 

McClellan,  Gen.  George  B.,  858,  862-864;  candi- 
date, 375. 
McCormick,  Cyrus,  inventor,  847. 
Macdonough,  Com.  Thomas,  258. 
McDowell,  Gen.  Irvin,  857,  361,  362. 
Macedonian,  frigate,  260. 


XXlll 


INDEX 


McKean,  Thomas,  Revolutionary  leader,  165. 

Mackinaw,  146,  196,  221. 

McKinley,  William,  President,  418,  423,  429  ;  at 

Cedar  Creek,  373. 
McKinley  Tariff  Act,  414. 
Macon,  Fort,  captured,  379. 
Macon's  Bill  No.  2,  253. 
McPherson,  Gen.  James  B.,  371. 
Madison,   James,    sketch,   252 ;  helps  write  the 

Federalist,  207  ;  President,  252-253,  303. 
Magazines,  215,  341. 

Magellan,  Ferdinand,  explorer,  23,  24,  11. 
Magoon,  Charles,  434. 
Mail,  see  Postal  Service. 
Maine,  colony,   60,  61,  93,   123,  124;  in  War  of 

1812,  258 ;  admitted,  271,  274 ;  disputed  bound- 
ary, 297,  316. 
Maine,  battleship,  421. 
Manassas,  battle,  357. 
Manila,  founded,  24 ;  captured,  (1762)141,  (1898) 

424. 
Manila  Bay,  battle,  422. 
Manufactures,  colonial,  65,  99,  147,  148;  (1789- 

1805),  237,  238;  (after  1807),  266;  (1820),  283; 

(1840),  311  ;  (1860),  342 ;    in  New  South,  428. 

See  Inventions. 
Marietta,  founded,  202. 
Marion,  Francis,  185. 
Marquette,  Father,  117-119. 
Marshall,  John,  231 ;  Chief  Justice,  247. 
Marshall,  James  W.,  325. 
Marthas  Vineyard,  named,  38. 
Marye's  Heights,  battle,  364. 
Maryland,  colony,  49-53,  80,  81,  87-93  ;  Tolera- 
tion   Act,    51,    52;    in    the    Revolution,    154; 

Western  land  question,  197  ;  in  Civil  War,  356, 

864.    See  Constitutions. 
Maskoki  Indians,  103. 
Mason,  John,  proprietor,  60. 
Mason,  John,  soldier,  110. 
Mason,  James  M.,  Confederate,  877. 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  81. 
Massachusetts,    colony,    58-68,   87-92,   95,  123, 

124  ;  loses  charter,  92,  93  ;  Indian  wars  in,  110, 

111,  126;  in  the  Revolution,  154-157,  159,  165; 

Western    land    claims,    194,     197,    198,    202 ; 

Shays' s  rebellion,  205,    See  Constitutions. 
Massasoit,  61. 
Matches,  introduced,  310. 
Maximilian,  in  Mexico,  390,  391. 
May,  Cornells  Jacobsen,  Dutch  explorer,  71. 
Mayflower,  56,  57. 
Meade,  Gen.  George  G.,  366,  872. 
Mechanical    development,    (about    1790),    238; 

(1820-40),  309;   (1840-60),  345  ;  (1860-80),  401. 
Mechanicsville,  battle,  363. 
Meigs,  Fort,  257. 
Memphis,  captured,  360. 
Menendez,  in  Florida,  33. 
Merrimac,  collier,  422. 
Merrimac,  ironclad,  380,  381. 
Merritt,  Gen.  Wesley,  422,  424. 


Mexico,  Spanish  conquest  of,  23  ;  secures  inde- 
pendence, 281,  817  ;  war  with,  319-322;  French 
in,  390. 

Michigan,  territory,  241 ;  admitted,  300 ;  builds 
railroads  and  canals,  308. 

Middle  Colonies,  87. 

Midway  Islands,  424. 

Milan  Decree,  250. 

Miles,  Gen.  Nelson  A.,  423, 

Mill  Springs,  battle,  358. 

Mims,  Fort,  255. 

Mining,  (1789)  237,  (1860)  842.      See.  Gold,  Coal. 

Minneapolis,  industries  of  (1880),  402. 

Minnesota,  admitted  as  a  state,  340. 

Mint,  established,  224. 

Minuit,  Peter,  74. 

Minutemen,  159,  164. 

Missionary  Ridge,  battle,  370. 

Mississippi,  territory,<;3^fflu|'"  admitted,  271; 
secedes,  351  ;  readmitted,  387. 

Mississippi  River,  explored,  29,  26,  117-120  ; 
navigation  of,  203,  229,  243  ;  in  Civil  War,  360, 
368,  369  ;  jetties,  401. 

Missouri,  territory,  244 ;  admitted,  274,  275 ;  in 
the  Civil  War,  356,  364. 

Missouri  Compromise,  274,  333,  336. 

Mobile,  founded,  121. 

xMobile  Bay,  battle,  379. 

Modoc  Indians,  war  with,  400. 

Mohawk  Indians,  103  ;  see  Iroquois. 

MoHno  del  Rey,  battle,  322. 

Money,  colonial,  (Va.)  47,  (New  Eng.)  64; 
(1789),  212;  (after  1792),  224 ;  (1814),  265; 
(1861-65),  881.    See  also  Paper  money,  etc. 

Monitor,  380,  381. 

Monmouth,  battle,  176. 

Monroe,  James,  President,  280-288. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  282. 

Montana,  territory,  395;  admitted,  414. 

Montcalm,  Marquis  de,  139,  141. 

Monterey,  Mex.,  capture  of,  820. 

Montezuma,  23. 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard,  163. 

Montreal,  30,  117  ;  captured,  141,  163. 

Moores  Creek,  battle,  164. 

Morgan,  Gen.  Daniel,  162,  163,  189. 

Morgan,  William,  292. 

Mormons,  812,  842,  410, 

Morris,  Robert,  171,  225, 

Morristown,  Washington  at,  172, 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B.,  inventor,  345. 

Morton,  Dr.  William  T.  G.,  347. 

Motley,  John  Lothrop,  author,  842. 

Moultrie,  Fort,  attacked,  165, 

Mound  builders,  101. 

Murfreesboro,  battle,  360, 

Muskhogee  Indians,  103. 

Napoleon,  234,  248,  249,  253,  281,  280. 
Narragansett  Indians,  110,  111. 
Narvaez,  Panfilo  de,  explorer,  26. 
Nashville,  founded,  182  ;  battie  of,  874. 


INDEX 


Nassau,  Fort,  72,  73. 

National  banks,  3S2  ;  see  Batik. 

National  debt,  see  Debt. 

National  Democratic  Party,  417. 

National  Labor- Reform  Party,  404. 

National  Republicans,  286,  292,  293. 

National  Road,  303. 

Naumkeag,  settled,  58. 

Nauvoo,  313,  343. 

Navigation  Acts,  88,  147. 

Navy,  in  the  Revolution,  177-179  ;  (1798-1800), 
232-233  ;  in  War  of  1812,  259-261 ;  in  the  Civil 
War,  876-381  ;  the  new,  411. 

Nebraska,  territory,  333,  393  ;  admitted,  395. 

Necessity,  Fort,  133. 

Negroes,  see  Slavery ;  Freedmen's  Bureau,  385 ; 
right  to  vote,  389,  417 ;  education,  428. 

Netherlands  (Dutch),  in  America,  70-77,  111, 
112,  124. 

Neutrality,  struggle  for,  228,  249-253. 

Nevada,  395,  409. 

New  Amsterdam,  72,  74,  75,  77,  112. 

Newbern,  captured,  379. 

Newburgh,  Washington  at,  192. 

New  England,  settled,  38,  54-68  ;  confederation, 
63;  Indian  wars  in,  110,  111,  123-127;  in- 
dustries, 100,  219 ;  in  War  of  1812,  258,  262. 

Newfoundland,  19,  29,  127. 

New  France,  115-117,  141. 

New  Hampshire,  colony,  60,  61,  68,  .87-95,  123, 
124,  203,     See  Constitutions. 

New  Hampshire  Grants,  160,  203. 

New  Haven,  attacked,  186. 

New  Haven  Colony,  63,  08. 

New  Jersey,  colony,  78,  87-92.   See  Constitutions. 

New  Mexico,  explored,  27;  acquired  by  U.S., 
820,  322;  eastern  part  ceded  by  Texas,  327, 
828  ;  territory,  328,  393,  433. 

New  Netherland,  71-77,  111,  112. 

New  Orleans,  founded,  121  ;  ceded  to  Spain,  143 ; 
port  of  deposit,  229,  248 ;  battle  of,  259,  262 ; 
trade  of  (1820),  272  ;  in  Civil  War,  360,  361. 

Newport,  R.I.,  62,  177,  191. 

Newspapers,  98,  215,  341 ;  Confederate,  383. 

New  Sweden,  74. 

New  York  (city),  growth,  77,  96,  212,  428;  in 
the  Revolution,  169,  177,  192;  capital  of  the 
U.S.,  208,  223;  Western  trade  of,  267,  273, 
804 ;  omnibuses  in,  310 ;  Central  Park  laid 
out,  341;  riot  (1863),  367. 

New  York  (state),  colony,  71-78,  87-95,  124, 
143;  Indian  wars  in.  111,  123-125;  legislature 
dismissed,  153,  154  ;  Western  land  claims,  195, 
197,  198  ;  western  part  claimed  by  Massachu- 
setts, 202  ;  claims  all  Vermont,  202  ;  Anti-rent 
troubles,  312.     See  Constitutions. 

Niagara,  Fort,  127,  137,  138,  140,  144 ;  held  by 
British,  196. 

Nicaragua  canal  route,  430. 

Nipmucks,  111. 

Nominating  conventions,  first  national,  292. 

Non -intercourse  Act  (1809),  252. 


Norfolk,  burned,  162. 

North  Carolina,  colony,  82-84,  87  -92,  95;  Indian 

war  in,  112;  in  the  Revolution,  164,  165,  190  ; 

Western   land  claims,  195,   197,  198 ;  secedes, 

350;  readmitted,  387.     See  Constitutions. 
North  Dakota,  admitted,  414. 
Northwest  Territory,  201,  202,  240,  241. 
Nova  Scotia,   settled,   114,   115,  124;   taken  by 

English,  127,  137. 
Nullification,  233,  290,  292. 

Oglethorpe,  James,  84,  85,  128. 

Ohio,  French  in,  128-133,  138-140  ;  settled,  202, 

240;  Indian  war  in,  227  ;  admitted,  241. 
Ohio  Company  (of  1749),  180. 
Ohio  Company  of  Associates  (1787),  200-202. 
Ohio  River,  trade,  272. 
Oklahoma,  432. 
Old  Ironsides,  259. 
Omaha,  trade  of,  398. 
Omnibuses  introduced," 810,  841. 
Opekankano,  109. 
Orange,  Fort,  72,  76. 
Orders  in  council,  British,  250. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  201. 
Oregon,  country,  276;  settled,  315;  acquired  by 

U.S.,  319  ;  state  admitted,  340. 
Oregon,  battleship,  422. 
Original  states,  210. 
Oriskany,  battle,  172. 
Orleans,  territory  of,  244,  245. 
Osceola,  302. 
Ostend  Manifesto,  349. 
Oswego,  139,  144,  196,  221. 
Otis,  James,  148. 
Overland  trails,  395. 
Owen,  Robert,  reformer,  312. 

Pacific  Ocean,  explored,  22-25. 

Pacific  railroads,  344,  398,  399. 

Paine,  Thomas,  in  the  Revolution,  165. 

Palmer,  John  M.,  candidate,  418. 

Palo  Alto,  battle,  320. 

Panama  Canal,  431. 

Pan-American  Exposition,  429. 

Panics,  (1837),  296,  308;  (1857),  848;  (1873),  405; 
(1877),  408;  (1893),  415,  416  ;  (1907),  484. 

Paper  money,  409,  414  ;  see  also  Bills  of  credit. 
Bank,  Banks,  Greenbacks. 

Paris,  treaty  of  (1782-83),  192. 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  candidate,  432. 

Parker,  Capt.  John,  159. 

Parkman,  Francis,  342 ;  works  referred  to,  33, 
117,  119,  127,  141,  145. 

Parliament,  British,  127  ;  representation  in,  150, 
92,  176;  causes  American  Revolution,  147-157. 

Parties,  rise  of,  225;  national  convention,  292. 
See  Republican,  Whig,  Democratic,  Know- 
nothing,  Prohibition,  People'' s,  etc. 

Partisan  leaders  in  the  Revolution,  185. 

Patriot  War  in  Canada,  297. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry,  415. 


INDEX 


-'iatroons,  72,  73,  812- 

Pea  Eidge,  battle,  859,  36Q^  > 

Peking,  trouble  in  (190of,  427. 

Pemberton,  Gen.  John  C,  868,  369. 

Pendleton,  George  H.,  candidate,  875. 

Pendleton  Act,  410. 

Peninsular  campaign,  861. 

Penn,  William,  7&-S1,  92. 

Pennsylvania  colony,  79-82,  87-92,  95, 100,  143 ; 
boundary  disputes,  80,  81,  202.  See  Constitu- 
tions. 

Pensions,  382. 

People's  Party,  415. 

Pepperell,  Sir  William,  128. 

Pequots,  war  with,  110,  111. 

Perkins,  Jacob,  238. 

Perry,  Com.  Matthew  Calbraith,  849. 

Perry,  Oliver  Hazard,  257. 

Perryville,  battle,  860. 

Personal  Liberty  laws,  834. 

Peru,  conquest  of,  23. 

Petersburg,  siege  of,  872,  874. 

Petroleum,  842,  402,  428. 

Philadelphia,  growth,  79,  81,  96,  212,  428  ;  in  the 
Eevolution,  156,  157,  166,  174,  176 ;  capital  of 
U.S.,  223;  Western  trade  of,  266,  273;  expo- 
sition (1876),  406. 

Philadelphia,  frigate,  at  Tripoli,  249. 

Philip,  Indian  chief.  111,  254. 

Philip  II  of  Spain,  87. 

Philippines,  discovered,  24  ;  captured  (1762),  141 ; 
after  1898,  422,  424,  426. 

Phips,  William,  125,  126. 

Photography,  847,  286. 

Pickens,  Andrew,  185. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  President,  832,  349. 

Pike,  Zebulon,  explorer,  275. 

Pilgrims,  56,  57,  113. 

Pillow,  Fort,  captured,  859. 

Pinckney,  Charles  C,  281,  234,  246,  252. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  230,  231. 

Pineda,  Alonzo  Alvarez  de,  explorer,  26. 

Pioneer  life,  270. 

Pirates,  American,  84  ;  Barbary,  229. 

Pitcairn,  Major,  159,  162. 

Pitt,  WiUiam,  189,  158. 

Pitt,  Fort,  140,  144,  146. 

Pittsburg,  founded,  182,  140 ;  routes  to,  144,  199, 
267,  305 ;  trade  of,  (1820)  266,  272,  (1860)  342 ; 
strike  in  (1877),  408. 

Pittsburg  Landing,  battle,  859. 

Pizarro,  Francisco,  explorer,  28. 

Plattsburg,  battle,  258. 

Plymouth  Colony,  56,  57,  68,  67,  68,  92,  98. 

Plymouth  Company,  88,  89,  54,  57. 

Pocahontas,  42. 

Pocket  veto,  416. 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  841. 

Police,  218,  810,  841. 

Polk,  James  K.,  President,  819-328,  849. 

Polo,  Marco,  explorer,  12. 

Polygamy,  842,  410. 


Ponce  de  Leon,  Juan,  25. 

Pontiac's  War,  145,  146,  254. 

Pony  Express,  396. 

Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  136. 

Pope,  Gen.  John,  .859,  363. 

"  Popular  sovereignty,"  827. 

Population,  growth  of,  95;  (1790),  212;  (1800, 
1810),  241;  (1840),  300;  (1860),  840;  (1880), 
403  ;  (1900),  427. 

Populists,  415. 

Portage  Railroad,  807,  308. 

Porter,  Admiral  David  D.,  868,  879. 

Port  Gibson,  battle,  368. 

Port  Hudson,  captured,  369. 

Portland  (Me.),  in  wars,  125,  162,  260. 

Porto  Rico,  explored,  17,  25 ;  captured,  423 ; 
government  of,  424. 

Port  Royal,  Nova  Scotia,  founded,  114,  115;  cap- 
tured, 125, 127. 

Port  Royal,  8.C.,  32;  captured,  379. 

Portugal,  explorations,  10,  11,  21 ;  colony,  18. 

Postage  stamps,  348. 

Postal  service,  early,  98, 214 ;  (1790),  224  ;  (1887), 
308;  (1847^1),  348  ;  (1860-80),  895-397. 

Potash,  270. 

Powhatan,  41,  42,  108,  109. 

Prescott,  Col,  William,  161. 

Prescott,  William  H.,  author,  341. 

President,  method  of  electing,  208,  231,  284,  246, 
283,  286,  407  ;  table  of  Presidents,  xvi. 

Presidential  election,  (1792),  226;  (1796),  280 
(1800),  234;  (1804),  246;  (1808),  252;  (1812) 
255 ;  (1816),  280  ;  (1820),  280 ;  (1824),  288 
(1828),  286;  (1882),  292  ;  (1836),  295;  (1840) 
298;  (1844),  319;  (1848),  323;  (1852),  832 
(1856),  386 ;  (1860),  338  ;  (1864),  874  ;  (1868) 
888;  (1872),  405;  (1876),  407;  (1880),  409 
(1884),  412;  (1888),  414;  (1892),  415;  (1896), 
417,  418;  (1900),  429  ;  (1904),  432;  (1908),  484. 

Presidential  succession  law,  410. 

Presque  Isle,  130,  144,  146. 

Prideaux,  Gen.  John,  140. 

Princeton,  battle,  172. 

Pring,  Martin,  explorer,  88. 

Printing,  98,  215,  841,  845. 

Privateering,  179,  180,  376. 

Proclamation  Line,  148. 

Prohibition  party,  404. 

Prophet,  the,  Indian  leader,  254. 

Proprietary  colonies,  87-92. 

Protection,  see  Tariff. 

Providence,  founded,  62. 

Public  land,  198,  281,  300-302;  sold  on  credit, 
241,  301 ;  grants  in  aid  of  education,  301,  898; 
grants  to  railroads,  398 ;  Homestead  Law,  899 ; 
irrigation  of,  430. 

Pueblos,  27,  28. 

Pulaski,  Count,  174,  185. 

Punishments,  90,  245,  811. 

Pure  Food  Act,  483. 

Puritans,  55,  58,  59,  68,  67. 

Putnam,  Israel,  162, 170. 


INDEX 


Quakers,  67,  78,  79. 

Quartering  troops,  147,  153,  156. 

Quebec,  founded,  115,  80;  attacked  by  English, 

126,   127 ;  captured  by   British,  141 ;  attacked 

by  Americans,  1G;1 
Quebec,  province  of,  143, 157. 
Queen  Anne's  War,  120,  127. 

Railroads,   early,   305-308;   (I860)',   348;    (18S0), 

402,  405;  transcontinental,  844,  398,  399  ;  great 

strike  of  1877,  408. 
Eaisin  River,  battle,  257. 
Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  35-37. 
Ranches,  400. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  Republican  leader,  225. 
Reading,  founded,  95. 
Reaper,  Invented,  346. 
Reconstruction,  385-390. 
Redemptioners,  45,  52,  219. 
Reforms,  (1805),  245;  (1820-40),  811. 
Removal  of  the  deposits,  293. 
Reprisal,  cruiser,  178. 
Republican   party,    old,  225,  228,  280;  breaking 

up  of,  283-286.  292  ;  new  (1854),   335,  338,  414, 

417 ;  Liberal,  390. 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle,  820. 
Revere,  Paul,  159. 
Revolution,  American,  147-196. 
Rhode    Island,  colony,  61,  62,  68,  87-92  ;   loses 

charter,  92,  93;  in  the  Revolution,  165;  Dorr's 

Rebellion  in,  311.     See  Constitutions. 
Ribaut,  Jean,  32,  33. 

Richmond,  in  Civil  War,  356,  861,  372,  874,  884. 
Roads,  144,  237,  266,  268,  303. 
Roanoke    Island,    colony,  36,  87 ;    captured  in 

Civil  War,  879. 
Robertson,  James,  pioneer,  182. 
Roberval,  Jean  Franfois  de,  30. 
Rochambeau,  Count,  191. 
Rodgers,  Capt.  John,  249. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  President,  429-434,  423. 
Rosecrans*,  Gen.  W".  S.,  360,  869,  870. 
Rough  Riders,  423,  429. 
Roxbury,  settled,  59. 
Royal  colonies,  87. 
Rubber,  vulcanized,  347. 
Rumsey,  James,  steamboat  inventor,  239. 
Rush,  Benjamin,  Revolutionary  leader,  165. 
Russell,  Jonathan,  at  Ghent,  261. 
Russia,  colonies,  276,  282,  390. 
Ryswlck,  treaty  of,  126. 

Sachem,  102. 

Sacramento,  on  overland  route,  895. 

St.  Albans,  raid»d,  378. 

St.  Augustine,  33,  85,  112,  123. 

St,  Clair,  Gen.  Arthur,  227. 

St.  Croix,  colony,  115. 

St.  Joseph,  Fort,  120,  145,  183,  196. 

St.  Joseph  (Mo.),  trade  of,  398. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  29,  114,  115. 

St.  Leger,  Col.  Barry,  172,  178. 


St.  Louis,  In  1806,  245 ;  trade  of,  813 ;  bridge  at. 
401. 

St.  Louis,  Fort,  In  Illinois  and  in  Texas,  121. 

St.  Marys,  founded,  50. 

St.  Philip,  Fort,  801. 

Salamanca,  council  of,  12. 

Salem,  Mass.,  founded,  58,  59 ;  witchcraft  delu- 
sion, 67. 

Salmon  Falls,  attack  on,  125. 

Salt  Lake  City,  on  overland  route,  395 ;  telegraph 
to,  397. 

Samoa  Islands,  424. 

Sampson,  Rear-Admiral  William  T.,  422. 

San  Francisco,  325,  395,  896 ;  anti-Chinese  move- 
ment, 409  ;  earthquake  and  fire,  434. 

San  Jacinto,  battle,  317. 

San  Jacinto,  war  ship,  377. 

San  Juan,  battle,  423. 

San  Juan  Islands,  392. 

San  Salvador,  discovered,  16. 

Santa  Anna,  317,  321. 

Santa  Fe,  trail  to,  313,  395;  captured,  820. 

Santiago,  battles  near,  422,  423. 

Santo  Domingo,  proposed  annexation,  891. 

Saratoga,  battle,  174. 

Sassacns,  110. 

Savannah,  founded,  85 ;  in  the  Revolution,  185, 
192  ;  in  Civil  War,  872. 

Sa/vannah,  steamship,  308. 

Saybrook,  founded,  78,  62. 

Scalawags,  889. 

Schenectady,  attack  on,  124. 

Schley,  Com.  Winfield  S.,  411,  422. 

Schofield,  Gen.  John  M.,  871. 

Schools,  see  Education. 

Schuyler,  Gen,  PhiHp,  173,  174. 

Scioto  Company,  202. 

Scotch-Irish  In  America,  81,  83,  95. 

Scotchmen  in  America,  75,  83,  85. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  257,  297 ;  in  Mexican  War, 
320-S22  ;  candidate,  832  ;  In  Civil  War,  857. 

Seal  fishing,  419. 

Search,  right  of,  250,  377. 

Secession,  351,  356,  885. 

Sedition  Act,  232. 

Seminoles,  288,  302. 

Separatists,  55. 

Serapis,  179. 

Settled  area,  see  Population. 

Seven  Years'  War,  139. 

Sevier,  John,  pioneer,  188. 

Seward,  William  H.,  383,  374. 

Sewing  machine,  846. 

Seymour,  Horatio,  candidate,  888. 

Shafter,  Gen.  William  R.,  428. 

Shannon,  261. 

Sharpsburg,  battle,  864. 

Shays,  Daniel,  rebellion,  205. 

Shelby,  Isaac,  pioneer,  188. 

Shenandoah,  cruiser,  878,  391. 

Shenandoah  valley,  in  Civil  War,  862,  878. 

Sheridan,  Gen.  PhiUp  H.,  878. 
xxvii 


INDEX 


Sherman,  Sen.  John,  414. 

Sherman,  Roger,  166. 

Sherman,  Gen.  WiUiam  Tecumseh,  370-372,  374. 

Sherman  Act,  414,  416. 

Shiloh,  battle,  359. 

Silver  certificates,  409,  414. 

Silver  coinage,  224,  408,  414,  417. 

Silver  Grays,  336. 

Simms,  William  Gilmore,  341;  works  referred  to, 
185,  190. 

Sioux,  120,  400,  401. 

Six  Nations,  112,  135.     See  Iroquois. 

Slater,  Samuel,  238. 

Slavery,  in  Virginia,  45,  219  ;  in  the  Northwest 
Territory,  forbidden,  201 ;  in  the  U.S.  (1789), 
219  ;  abolished  in  the  North,  219,  273  ;  growth 
in  the  South,  273,  311 ;  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
274;  agitation  (1820^0),  293-295;  in  Mexican 
cession,  323  ;  issues  of  1850,  326-328  ;  in  Kan- 
sas, 333,  334;  Emancipation  Proclamation,  364; 
abolished  in  territories,  364 ;  abolished  by 
Thirteenth  Amendment,  385. 

Slave  trade,  34,  219,  317. 

Slidell,  John,  Confederate  commissioner,  877, 
361. 

Sloat,  Com.  John  D.,  820. 

Smith,  Green  Clay,  candidate,  408. 

Smith,  Jedediah,  314. 

Smith,  John,  41-43,  54,  55. 

Smith,  Joseph,  312,  313,  343. 

Smuggling,  148. 

Socialist  Labor  party,  415,  418,  432. 

Sod  house,  399. 

Sons  of  Liberty,  149,  164. 

South,  and  the  tariff,  282, 286,  290  ;  slavery  agita- 
tion in,  294,  326;  industries  of,  311,  342,  428; 
distress  in  (1861-65),  383  ;  reconstruction,  386, 
889 ;  disfranchises  negroes,  417 ;  the  new, 
428. 

South  America,  discovered,  17,  21 ;  republics  in, 
281. 

South  Carolina,  French  in,  32;  colony,  82-84, 
87-92,  95;  Indian  war  in,  112;  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, 156,  165,  185,  190;  Western  land  claims, 
195,  197,  198;  nullifies  the  tariff,  290,  292; 
secedes,  351 ;  readmitted,  387.  See  Constitu- 
tions. 

South  Carolina  doctrine,  289. 

South  Dakota,  admitted,  414. 

Southern  Colonies,  87. 

South  Pass,  discovered,  318. 

South  Sea,  22. 

Spain,  explorations,  12,  16-29;  colonization,  18, 
22-25,  30,  33,  34;  war  with  England  (1588), 
37  ;  wars  with  Great  Britain,  (1740)  128,  (1761) 
141,  (1779)  183;  regains  Florida,  196;  trouble 
with  U.S.  (1783-96),  196,  203;  treaties  with, 
(1795)  229,  (1819)  276;  South  American  col- 
onies revolt  from,  281 ;  Virginius  affair,  392, 
war  with  U.S.,  421-424 ;  treaty  with  (1898),  424. 

Spanish  Succession,  war  of,  126. 

Specie  Payment  Act,  406,  408. 


Speculation,  238,  29G,  405. 

Spice  Islands,  9,  23,  24. 

Spoils  system,  289. 

Spottsylvania  Court  House,  battle,  372. 

"  Squatter  sovereignty,"  327. 

Stagecoaches,  98,  217,   266,  277 ;   Western,  395^ 

898. 
Stamford,  settled,  63. 
Stamp  Act,  149-153. 
Standish,  Miles,  55,  58. 
Stanton,  Edward  M.,  Secretary  of  War,  387. 
Stanwix,  Fort,  144,  172. 
Stark,  Gen.  John,  162,  174. 
Star-spangled  Banner,  258. 
Staten  Island,  settled,  73. 
State  banks,  see  Banks. 
State  rights,  291. 

States,  table  of,  xiv.    See  Constitutions. 
Steamboat,  239,  267,  268,  308. 
Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  355,  857,  874. 
Stephenson,  Fort,  257. 
Steuben,  Baron,  175. 
Stevens,  John,  268,  805. 
Stevenson,  Adlai  E.,  candidate,  429. 
Stillwater,  battle,  174. 
Stony  Point,  capture  of,  186. 
Stoves,  97,  213,  271,  310. 
Stowe,  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher,  328. 
Strikes,  311,  408. 
Stuyvesant,  Peter,  74,  75,  77. 
SuUivan,  Gen.  John,  162,  183. 
Sumner,  Charles,  333. 
Sumter,  Thomas,  185. 
Sumter,  Fort,  356. 

Surplus,  (1837),  295-297;  (1887),  413. 
Sutter,  J.  A.,  825. 
Swedes  in  America,  73. 
Symmes,  John  Cleve,  202. 

Taft,  William  H.,  426,  434. 
Taney,  Roger  B.,  293,  336. 
Tariff,  (1789),  224;  (1816),   266;   (1824),  282;  of 

Abominations  (1828),  286  ;  (1832),  290  ;  (1833), 

292  ;  (1842),  316  ;  (1861),  881 ;  (1888),  413  ;  (1890), 

414;  (1894),  416;  (1897),  418. 
Tarieton,  Col.  Banastre,  189. 
Taverns,  217,  305. 
Taylor,  Zachary,  sketch,  824 ;  in  Seminole  War, 

308;    in  Mexican  War,  320,  321;    President, 

324,  828. 
Tea  tax,  155,  156. 
Tecumthe,  254,  255,  257. 
Telegraph,  845,  403 ;  submarine,  345,  848,  402  ; 

transcontinental,  897. 
Telephone,  401. 
Temperance  reform,  405. 
Tennessee,  settled,  181,  182,  198,  199 ;  threatens 

to  leave  Union,  203;  admitted,  240;  secedes, 

856 ;  readmitted,  387. 
Tenure  of  Office  Act,  387. 
Tepee,  105. 
Terry,  Eli,  238. 


INDEX 


Texas,  La  Salle  in,  121 ;  republic,  317 ;  annexed, 
819  ;  boundaries,  318,  819,  827,  328 ;  secedes, 
861  ;  readmitted,  387. 

Thacher,  Oxen  bridge,  148. 

Thames,  battle,  257. 

Third  term  rul'i,  252. 

Thirteenth  Amendment.  385. 

Thomas,  Gen.  George  II.,  858,  369-372,  374. 

Ticonderoga.  136, 140 ;  in  the  Kevolution,  160, 173. 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  407  . 

Ti{)pecanoe,  battle,  254. 

Tobacco.  86  ;  in  Vivginia,  44,  46-^8. 

Tonty,  Henri  de,  120. 

Topeka  constitution,  834. 

Tories,  164,  19G. 

Totem,  102. 

Town  meeting,  91. 

Townshend  Acts,  15-3-155. 

Townships,  on  public  laud,  301. 

Trade,  see  Commerce. 

Trades  unions,  311. 

Travel,  in  colonial  times,  97,  98;  (1789),  217; 
(1820),  266;  (1820-40),  304-307;  to  far  West 
(1861),  395.     See  Steamboat,  Railroad. 

Treasury  notes,  297,  414. 

Treaties,  see  Ghent,  Paris,  etc.;  France,  Great 
Britain,  Spain,  etc. 

Trent  affair,  377. 

Trenton,  battle,  171. 

Tripoli,  war  with,  2-19. 

Truxtun,  Capt.  Thomas,  233. 

Turnpike,  237,  2G6. 

Tuscarora  Indians,  112. 

Tutuila,  424. 

Tyler,  John,  sketch,  299 ;  Vice  President,  298 ; 
President,  810-319. 


Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  323. 

Underground  Uailroad,  334. 

Underbill,  John,  soldier,  110. 

Union,  early  plans  of,  92 ;  formed,  197. 

Union,  Fort,  343. 

United  Colonies  of  New  England,  63. 

Utah,  territory,  328,  342,  393  ;  polygamy  In,  410 

admitted,  414. 
Utrecht,  treaty  of,  127. 


Yaca,  Cabeza  de,  explorer,  27. 

Vail,  Alfred,  845. 

Valley  Forge,  army  at,  175. 

Van  Buren,  sketch,  296;  President,  295-298,311, 

318;  candidate  (1S4S),  323. 
Van  Rensselaer,  Gen.  Stephen,  256. 
Van  Rensselaer  estate,  73,  312. 
Venango,  Fort,  130,  146. 
Venezuela,  named,  21  ;  boundary,  420. 
Venice,  trade  of,  9,  10. 
Vera  Cruz,  captured,  321. 

Vermont,  settled,  124,  16o.  203 ;  admitted,  223. 
Verrazano,  John,  explorer,  29. 
Vespucius,  Americus,  explorer,  21. 
Veto,  416. 

MOM.    BRIEF — 28 


Vice-admiralty  courts,  148. 

Vice  President,  election  of,  231,  246,  295. 

Vicksburg,  captured,  868,  879. 

Vikings,  15. 

Vincennes,  captured,  1S3.  * 

Vinland,  15. 

Virginia,  named,  86  ;  colony,  38-49,  87-92,  143 ; 
charter  of  1000,  43,  44;  first  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, 45;  Indian  wars  in,  109;  Bacon's 
Rebellion,  94,  95  ;  in  the  Revolution,  150,  154, 
155,  157,  105,  183;  Western  land  claims,  195, 
197,  198  ;  secedes,  356 ;  in  Civil  War,  357,  372 ; 
readmitted,  387.    See  Constitutions. 

Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions,  233. 

Virgitiia,  ironclad,  380. 

Virginia  City,  Nev.,  304  ;  Mont.,  395. 

Virginia  Military  Lands,  198. 

Virginius  affair,  392. 

Voters,  see  Franchise. 


Wages,  see  Labor. 

Wake  Island,  424. 

Wampum,  104,  105. 

War  of  1^12,  254-2G2. 

Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  162. 

Washington,  George,  early  life,  131 ;  in  French 
and  Indian  War,  132,  133,  138-140  ;  commander 
Continental  Army,  161,  162  ;  takes  Boston,  164  ; 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  cam- 
l)aign,  1C9-177;  at  Yorktown,  191  ;  surrenders 
command,  192  ;  in  constitutional  convention, 
206;  President,  208,  222-230;  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, 230;  made  lieutenant  generar(1798), 
232 ;  death,  230. 

Washington,  Fort,  captured  by  British,  170. 

Washington  (city),  capital,  235 ;  in  War  of  1812, 
258  ;  treaty  of,  891. 

Washington  (state),  a  territory,  341,  393 ;  ad- 
mitted, 414. 

Wasp,  sloop,  200. 

Watauga  settlement,  181-182. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  186,  227. 

Weaver,  James  B.,  candidate,  415. 

Webster,  Daniel,  291,  816.  327. 

Webster-Ashburton  treaty,  316. 

Wells,  Dr.  Horace,  347. 

Wells,  Me.,  61,  126. 

West,  migration  to,  95,  181,  198,  269;  acquisition 
of,  181-183;  ceded  to  Congress,  198;  rise  of 
(1815-21),  266-272  ;  builds  railroads  and  canals, 
808;  (far  West),  explored,  244,  275,  313,  344; 
in  1860-70,  393-100. 

Western  Reserve  of  Connecticut,  198,  240. 

West  Florida  question,  243,  244. 

West  India  Company,  72. 

West  Indies,  discovered,  17 ;  trade  with,  204, 
228,  264. 

West  Point,  in  the  Revolution,  187, 188 ;  MUitary 
Academy  at,  246. 

Westsylvania,  state  of,  182. 

West  Virginia,  admitted,  356 ;  in  Civil  War,  358, 
364. 

xxix 


INDEX 


Westward  migration,  95,  181,  198,  269. 

Weymouth,  George,  explorer,  38. 

Wheeler,  Gen,  Joseph,  423. 

Whig  party  (of  1834- ),  293,  832,  835,  888. 

Whigs,  in  the  Eevolution,  164. 

Whisky  insurrection,  225. 

White,  John,  at  Koanoke,  36,  37. 

White,  John,  Puritan,  53. 

White  Plains,  battle,  ITO. 

Whitney,  Asa,  344. 

Whitney,  Eli,  239. 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  341  ;  works  referred 

to,  126,  295,  311,  319,  321,  327. 
Wigwam,  105. 
Wilderness,  battle,  372. 
Wilkes,  Capt.  Charles,  in  Trent  affair,  377. 
Wilkinson,  James,  244,  246. 
William  and  Mary,  of  England,  93,  94,  126. 
William  and  :^ary  College,  47. 
Wilham  Henry,  Fort,  138,  139. 
Williams,  James,  Revolutionary  leader,  188. 
Williams,  Roger,  61,  62,  110. 
Williamsburg,  47,  99  ;  battle,  862. 
Willis,  Nathaniel  P.,  poet,  342. 
Wilmington,  Del.,  founded,  73. 
Wilmington,  N.C.,  in  Civil  War,  377,  379. 


Wilmot  Proviso,  323. 

Wilson  Taritr  Act,  416. 

Winchester,  battle,  373. 

Winthrop,  John,  59,  62,  66. 

Winthrop,  John,  the  younger,  68. 

Wirt,  William,  presidential  candidate.  292. 

Wisconsin,  territory,  300  ;  admitted,  320. 

Witchcraft  delusion,  67. 

Wolfe,  Gen.  James,  140,  141. 

Woman  suffrage,  417. 

Writs  of  assistance,  148. 

Wyeth,  Nathaniel  J.,  315. 

Wj'oming,  territory,  395;  admitted,  41  f. 

Wyoming  Valley,  settled,  202  ;  massacre  at,  ISO. 

X.  Y.  Z.  affair,  231. 

Yamassee  Indians,  112. 

Yeardley,  Gov.  George,  44. 

York  (Me.\  61,  126 ;  (Canada),  257. 

York,  Duke  of,  77,  78,  81 ;  James  II,  92,  93,  123. 

Yorktown,  capture  of,  (1781),  191,  171;    (1862), 

362. 
Young,  Brigham,  343. 

Zeuger,  John  Peter,  printer,  98. 


^v  /^' 


o-vi)id-^^ 


/.5'''^"  y^ 


-^ 


'■\ 


<v 


^'  M 


A  -V 


^  <■' 


YC  44242 


■•\&i. 


y 


y;-'W 


yu-^^ 


.--t-^"-' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


